Taming Your Demon
by BEBluvnaru
Summary: Starts as Naruto returns home from his training with Jiraiya. Naruto & Hinata have managed to form a close friendship prior to Naruto's absence. Since he's returned, there is more than one reason to take the relationship to the next level. Particularly after they learn that Hinata was promised to be sealed to Naruto and Kurama since birth. (act/suspense/fantasy/romance)
1. Welcome Home Naruto!

**Will depart from the canon... I own nothing. All characters are owned by or based on characters owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Hinata knelt next to Hanabi near the back of the shrine. She took the young girl's hand in an attempt to comfort her. But it was her own hand that was sweaty and trembling slightly. Hanabi's hand was as steady as her bright white eyes. Hanabi squeezed Hinata's hand comfortingly, and then smiled up at her older sister reassuringly.

She whispered, "Don't worry, Hinata."

The elders stood in the front of the shrine with a boy named Shinji. He was about ten or eleven. The same age as Hanabi, maybe a couple of months older. He was from one of the branch families, so Hinata saw him often but did not know him well. He seemed nice. He always smiled at her and waved whenever they crossed paths, despite his parent's and grandparent's warnings that he needed to address the main family more formally. He reminded her of Naruto, so she was happy that Shinji was the one who the elders chose to seal to her younger sister.

When her father passed her over as heir to the Hyuga clan, Hinata made an extra effort to help Hanabi through all of the rituals and formalities that came with the title. However, Hinata was never sealed to a future spouse, so she could not help her with this.

After several failed attempts by enemy villages to kidnap a hyuga heir in order to gain the power of the byakugan, the elders dropped the age of the sealing to ten, so Hanabi could be sealed right away to Shinji.

She was nervous for Hanabi. More so than Hanabi was for herself. Hinata was not sure if her sister fully grasped what it meant to be sealed to another person. But she returned Hanabi's smile as best she could and then turned back to the ceremony.

"Hanabi Hyuga, come forward."

Hanabi released Hinata's hand, and then she stood and moved to the front to take her place next to Shinji at the altar. Hinata felt nauseous as she watched the elders place the marks on both children that would bind their chakra.

From then on, each child would have free access to the other's chakra. Able to sense it anywhere, manipulate it, or draw on it at will. And if either child was ever stolen from the clan, their byakugan could be blocked to prevent outsiders from gaining the power. The binding could only be broken with death.

After the ceremony ended, Hinata snuck away from the crowd gathered outside of the shrine and through the gates of the Hyuga compound. She headed towards the park, wanting to get away from the shame and guilt that arose while she watched her little sister being sealed to Shinji Hyuga.

She felt it was her fault that Hanabi was going through the ceremony at such a young age. Traditionally, Hyuga shinobi were not bound to their intended spouse until they turned sixteen. If she remained the heiress, she would have likely been sealed to her future husband this year. But Hinata managed to get herself kidnapped as a young child, inciting even more fear among the clan, and then she managed to fail to live up to the title of heir, passing the burden on to Hanabi.

As Hinata entered the park, she looked up at the sky, imagining that the clouds were shaped like the faces of her friends. Kiba, Akumaru, Shino, Sakura, Lee, Ino…

She ran smack into something hard. Hard enough that she fell back, right onto her butt.

A familiar voice said, "Oh… sorry."

Stunned, she looked up. She was eye level with a pair of knee caps covered by orange sweatsuit pants. She would have recognized those pants anywhere, but she had not seen them for a couple of years. Quickly, she looked up further into the face of Naruto Uzumaki, who was curiously staring down at her.

"Eh! Hinata?! Is that you?" Naruto leaned down closer, inspecting her face. "IT IS YOU! Long time no see!"

He grabbed at her arm, pulling her up, so she was standing in front of him and he could fully inspect her. Hinata let herself be pulled up, though she was incredibly dizzy all of a sudden.

All she could manage to stammer out was, "N-Naruto…"

She was surprised to see him. He left the village almost two years ago with Jiraiya, and no one was expecting them back anytime soon. It was very likely that she missed him as much, if not more than anyone else in the village. But to see him so much taller and more mature without any warning, had been a complete shock to her system.

She stammered again, as she fell forward into Naruto's chest, "N-Naruto…"

He grasped hold of her, steadying her on her feet. "Are you ok, Hinata?"

"I'm fine." She smiled up at him, his arms still wrapped around her. "Just surprised to see you."

"Wow! You look different." Naruto said, fingering a strand of her black hair, which was now long and past her shoulders. "And taller!"

He looked impressed and placed his hand on top of her head. He was still more than a head taller than her since he had also grown taller himself.

"Umm hum." Hinata managed a nodded. Then she shook her head slightly and squeaked, "You look good... –I mean older –taller, ...I mean you look different too."

"What are you up to?" Naruto asked. His voice became serious. "Are you busy right now?"

"I… well… I was just walking…" Hinata's cheeks turned bright red, and the dizziness was getting worse. Her legs shook underneath her.

She was not busy. In fact, she was completely free. But she needed to come up with an excuse to leave before she embarrassed herself and passed out.

"Great! You're free then."

"Well, come on." Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her behind him. "Let's get some ramen! I've been craving it. I need a bowl RIGHT NOW. And you're exactly who I was looking for."

"Who me? I am?" Hinata looked down at her hand inside of Naruto's hand, and then up at the back of his blonde head as he led her down the street towards the center of the village. Was this a date? She felt her legs wobble again.

Granted, Naruto and Hinata had become good friends, prior to him leaving the village. But during the majority of their time at the ninja academy, they only spent a limited amount of time together. First of all, because Naruto was always too busy getting into trouble, and second of all, because Hinata was too shy to request more of his time. She was content watching him from a far. It was comfortable there. No risk of rejection or embarrassing herself.

Just before they graduated from the academy, out of the blue, Naruto enlisted Hinata as his main confidant. The friendship worked well, since Naruto liked to talk and Hinata liked to listen. And she was pretty much the only one who ever actually listened to him. Once they became genin, they were placed on two separate teams, but when he was in the village, Naruto would always seek Hinata out, specifically to have one of their many one-sided talks.

What Hinata liked the most about her blonde haired friend was his total lack of restraint. He wore his feelings on his sleeve for the entire world to see. She wished she was that bold too. She strived to be that bold and courageous… just like him. So far, she had become bolder and more courageous with her fighting skills, and less bold and courageous when it came to her feelings for Naruto.

Before Naruto left two years ago, he pursued Sakura like a heat seeking missile despite the pinkette's many decided and often violent rejections. Hinata knew every detail of Naruto's feelings for his teammate because this was one of his favorite topics during their talks. And despite her own feelings, Hinata tried to help him. Their attempts to win Sakura's heart never worked out well, however. But not from lack of persistence.

Once, Hinata attempted to give Naruto a Hyuga makeover, which Sakura promptly laughed at. Then she advised him to ask Sakura on an actual date. Sakura told him to drop dead. Hinata even wrote a poem for him to give to his crush. Unfortunately, the poem was passed to Sasuke before he quickly tossed it at Sakura. Sakura assumed it was from Sasuke, and refused to hear otherwise.

"What would you like? My treat!" Naruto asked Hinata jovially, with a large smile plastered across his face as they sat down in Ichiraku's.

"Umm…" Hinata perused the menu. She had never been particular to ramen before. But Naruto seemed to like it, so she was determined to like it too.

"How about a number two." Naruto pointed enthusiastically. "My favorite. You'll love it."

"Ok." Hinata nodded and smiled. She had seen him in this restaurant several times, but he had never invited her to eat with him before. She wondered if he truly missed her that much.

Naruto motioned to Ayame, said hello, and then ordered two number twos. "Ramen is the best. How have you been? I can't believe it's been two years…"

Hinata just sat and listened to Naruto chat. This was how it always was. She settled into her seat and smiled. She missed this immensely, while he was gone. She looked out of the ramen shop, watched the village pass by, and listened to Naruto's voice.

"...And I wonder what everyone else looks like. Do they look as different as you do?" Naruto twisted his mouth, curiously.

"You haven't seen anyone else yet?"

"Nope." Naruto said, taking the bowl of ramen from Ayame and chowing down. "I thought I'd enjoy my favorite meal and my favorite person first."

WHAT? Hinata looked wide eyed at Naruto, her cheeks turning red and her mouth dropping open. Did Naruto just say SHE was his favorite person?

"And you, Hinata? Anything new happen while I was gone?" Naruto continued, his mouth full of noodles.

Hinata looked back at him, daintily taking a spoon full of noodles herself. She quickly said, "Oh… no. The usual. But... my little sister was sealed today –to a boy named Shinji. That's about the only news I have."

"Oh wow." Naruto narrowed his eyes, looking at her suspiciously. "Do you plan to be sealed to anyone? I mean… does your clan have anything arranged?"

Hinata shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm not the heir anymore. My sealing is no longer a priority."

"But you're fifteen." Naruto persisted.

Hinata looked at him surprised. How did he know so much about the Hyuga clan traditions all of sudden? She replied in a small voice, "Yeah. I guess it will happen soon."

She had not wanted to think about her own fate. It was highly unlikely that she would ever be sealed to Naruto. And anyone else would be a disappointment.

"Naruto! Is that you!?" Voices came from behind them. Naruto looked up and past Hinata, his face lighting up again.

Hinata turned to find Kiba, Choji, Ino, and Sakura walking towards them.

"It is Naruto!" Kiba and Choji said in unison. They ran up, patting their comrade on the back and shaking his hand.

Ino and Sakura stood behind them giggling. Sakura leaned over to Ino and whispered. "Wow! Naruto has really grown up. Huh?"

Hinata overheard this. She looked back and forth between Naruto, who was concentrating hard on what Kiba and Choji were saying, and Sakura, who was staring dreamily at Naruto. When he finally noticed Sakura, Naruto's face lit up even more.

"Sakura! Wow, great to see you! Come on, join us!" Hinata's heart sunk as she watched Naruto get out of his chair and hug his teammate. He waved Ayame back over, so everyone else could give their orders.

They placed two tables together. Hinata was moved further down the tables to the other end, away from Naruto, who chose to sit next to Sakura.

She sighed. She thought maybe Naruto calling her "his favorite person" meant something. No such luck. He was back to crushing on Sakura.

After lunch ended, Hinata paid for her ramen and quietly slipped away from the group to make her way back home.

Before she made it half way down the street, she felt a hand press down on her right shoulder as though attempting to stop her in place. She looked down at Naruto's hand and then up into his face.

"Where'd you go? And you already paid... I was supposed to treat you. Remember?" He said jovially.

"It's alright. Maybe next time." Hinata replied softly.

"Well then. I'll walk you home." Naruto decided, falling in step with Hinata as she continued to walk towards the Hyuga Compound.

"It was great seeing everyone!" Naruto rambled on as usual. "Even Sakura was nice to me..."

Hinata looked up at him. "Well maybe you should try to ask her out again."

Naruto frowned down at Hinata. "Really? You think I should ask her out?"

"Yeah, sure." Hinata smiled. "She said she thought you seemed really grown up now. She was very impressed with everything you're doing to become a stronger shinobi in order to find Sasuke."

"Yeah... maybe I will ask her out." Naruto replied thoughtfully. "But I don't think she'll say yes. She's still all about Sasuke."

Now, Naruto was looking off into space, so he did not notice as Hinata's face fell in disappointment.

He continued, "Pervy sage says I have to show I'm appealing to girls in order to get a girl. Sakura likes Sasuke... and he has a lot of girls who like him. I don't really know any girls who like me. Though... I really would only need one –may be a fake girlfriend or something. That would get Sakura's attention."

"I like you!" Hinata blurted out. Then she squeaked, covering her mouth with her hand. Her face turning red. She quickly added, fidgeting with her fingers. "I mean as a friend… I like you as a friend. But I could pretend... to be your girlfriend, I mean."

The mention of being Naruto's girlfriend had caused her to have a momentary lapse in good judgment. She started to walk faster. Had she just volunteered to be Naruto's pretend girlfriend?

Naruto walked faster too. He tossed Hinata an odd look. She could not figure out if it was happiness or disappointment. "Are you sure? You don't have to do this. It was just a dumb idea…"

"No." Hinata said more confidently. "I want to do this."

"Thanks. I guess." Naruto said, laughing uncomfortably and rubbing the back of his head. Then he said, kindly, "I knew I could count on you, Hinata. You are the best friend ever."

Hinata beamed at him. "Of course! I'm always here to help."

* * *

Annoyed, Naruto walked away from the gate of the Hyuga Compond, kicking at the loose rocks in the street. That had not gone exactly how he had planned.

Not long after returning to Konohagakure, Naruto made his way across the village and through the park towards the Hyuga compound. He heard there was a sealing ceremony in progress, and he prayed he was not too late.

When he bumped into Hinata along the way and found her unmarked and alone, he was so elated that he invited her to go eat ramen without another thought. He forgot to mention his intentions, or that this could possibly be a date. Or that he had spent the last two years missing her more than anyone else in the village.

He had not set out to trick Hinata into becoming his pretend girlfriend. But after he saw her leave their sort of… kind of date without even saying good bye, and then she advised him to ask Sakura out again, he started to have flash backs of Sakura telling him to shove off.

Though it often hurt his feelings when Sakura turned him down, it was different with Hinata. He did not think he could bare if the shy and kind hearted kunoichi rejected him too.

He grumbled in frustration.

She did not have to try so hard to set him up with Sakura. OR be so happy about pretending to be his girlfriend to make Sakura jealous. She did not have to be SUCH a good friend. Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets feeling defeated. Despite all of the plans in his head, somehow, he ended up in the friend zone again… sort of.

Naruto was not too sure what Pervy Sage's angle was when Jiraiya started showing interest in Naruto's relationship with Hinata. But he was certain the toad sage was up to something. Maybe Jiraiya was tired of watching Naruto strike out horribly with Sakura. Maybe he was just being his usual pervy self. But his mentor persisted, mentioning how close Naruto and Hinata had grown as friends since graduating the academy. Even hinting that there may be a possibility that Hinata secretly had romantic feelings for him already.

"You really are a numbskull sometimes." Jiraiya said, as they walked side by side through a dense forest in the Land of Waterfalls. "The girl is completely head over heels for you, and yet you still haven't figured it out."

"Hey!" Naruto protested defensively. "Hinata is a good friend. And I really don't think that a girl, who is head over heels for me, would be so willing to help me get Sakura's attention, ya know."

"Ahh! This is why you need me, young student." Jiraiya replied, knowingly. "Hinata is a different breed of woman than most. Selfless and kind to a fault. She would help you with anything that she thought would make you happy."

Naruto thought about that for a moment. Hinata was very kind hearted. Her father removed her as heir to her clan because she was too kind hearted. But she was also very determined. She went to the training fields every day and practiced harder than anyone else, even though she was never particularly skilled, prodigious, nor powerful. If she loved him, wouldn't she be determined to let him know?

"I don't know…" Naruto responded, reluctantly.

"Your fifteen years old, almost sixteen. Time to think about what and who you want in life. It won't be long before Hinata is sealed to someone else and then it will be too late." Jiraiya responded cryptically.

Naruto had a change of heart halfway through his training with Jiraiya. He came back to the village ready to tell Hinata exactly how he felt about her. He never disclosed this to his mentor, who was becoming more and more insistent about discussing his love life as the months wore on.

…This however was not the first time one of Naruto's elders approached him about Hinata.

Years ago right before he became a genin, old man Sarutobi insisted that Naruto attempt to form a friendship with Hinata, as he was about to graduate from the academy with only a few tolerant acquaintances but no actual friends.

After the hokage continued to pester him, Naruto eventually started to talk to her.

At first, he did all the talking… which he was ok with him, because Hinata actually seemed to want to listen. Then after a few months, Hinata started to speak back. They even had a few adventures –or mishaps, while trying to win Sakura's heart.

Now Naruto just wanted to track Jiraiya down and tell him to go shove his love advise where the sun don't shine. He was not sure why he was even tempted to take advise from the perpetual bachelor anyway.

"Stupid, pervy sage!" Naruto mumbled to himself, still kicking rocks in the street.

* * *

Jiraiya stood with Kakashi in front of the hokage's desk. Tsunade rested her chin on her hands, thinking intently. "So you think they will come to the conclusion on their own?"

"Naruto already has." Jiraiya replied. "He thinks I don't know, but I saw him heading towards the Hyuga compound soon after we returned to the village."

"He had a rather significant crush on Sakura when he left." Kakashi mentioned. "Do you really think he is over it?"

"Yeah well. She's never been that nice to him, and I just happened to point out how kind Hinata has always been to him." Jiraiya chuckled, reveling in his cleverness.

"I'm not sure kindness is the attribute that attracts a man." Tsunade scoffed. She had been a complete hag to Jiraiya when they were younger, and yet he still insisted on having an annoyingly obvious crush on her.

Jiraiya frowned, thinking about this. "That's true…"

"What about the seals that are already in place?" Tsunade asked, interrupting.

"They are weakening." Jiraiya said gravely. "The nine tail managed to come out –to take over, twice while we were traveling. The first time I was able to calm him down pretty quickly. The second time… well…"

Jiraiya opened his shirt a bit to show them the large scar from the wound he sustained from the nine tailed fox. "I almost died."

Kakashi eyed the scar. "What about the wood style user?"

"That will work temporarily." Jiraiya replied, "But it's not permanent and it may not always work. Mito Uzumaki was sealed and bound to a couple of different byakugan users throughout her life time. They are the only ones with proven skill to stop the nine tail's chakra without fail when it attempts to gain control of its host. Kushina was never bound to a Hyuga, and we all know how that ended... the nine tailed fox gets loose, destroys the village and kills her and the hokage."

"So what if Naruto and Hinata don't choose each other?" Tsunade asked, frowning. "That's a very real possibility."

"They don't have to be lovers for the sealing. None of those who shared chakra with your grandmother were. She only married Lord First. The Hyugas seal couples within their own clan only because the bond is much stronger and there are less unnecessary interferences." Jiraiya replied. "But whatever happens. We'll have to tell them about the sealing soon. The nine tails is becoming stronger and Naruto is becoming more and more dependent on its power."

* * *

Hiashi Hyuga watched his oldest daughter enter the house and place her shoes at the door. She was such a good girl. It was not her fault that she was born as a tribute to a demon.

During the time that Hiashi grew up, before he took over as the leader of the hyuga clan, the jinchuuriki lived away from the Konohagakure. And much to his relief, the tradition of sealing a child from the main family to the demon's host, appeared to have died out for good.

Once the nine tailed fox was released during Naruto's birth and it destroyed the village, the tradition came back in full force.

Lord third approached Hiashi soon after Hinata's birth. He was informed that his first born daughter was the same age as Kushina's son, who was the new jinchuuriki. The hokage advised the Hyuga clan leader that Hinata would be sealed to Naruto on her sixteenth birthday, so Hiashi should plan to have more children, who he could make his heir.

Hiashi was a stubborn man however, and he did not like being told what to do. So he resisted at first.

He watched fearfully as Hinata developed feelings for the jinchuuriki anyway. But she did not know what Naruto was, nor what he would one day be to her. Hiashi tried to scare her away from Naruto. He threatened to disown her as heir. Still, she would not listen. Eventually, Hiashi gave into both the hokage and his daughter. He finally disowned her as his heir and took Hanabi instead.

He still felt guilty about it. He worried that Hinata would be shunned like the boy. Her entire life would be lived at the whim of an angry and some times cruel demon.

But he had left things far too long. Hinata was turning sixteen soon. The new hokage would come for her soon, and she would expect him to have passed on the skills necessary to subdue the beast. He had alllowed his father to discreetly teach her a few skills. But for the rest, he had been procrastinating. She should have already had years of training.

He called to his daughter. "Come here Hinata!"

She looked up and smiled at her father. "Hi Father!"

"Hurry. There are a few things I need to teach you."


	2. This Fake Relationship Gets Real

Hinata hobbled slowly from the clan compound. Her entire body was on fire. Sore muscles, shin splints, bones that ached from the center outward. Her father and grandfather had not worked her this hard since before she was disowned as the heir.

She had no idea what had come over Hiashi during the last couple of weeks. But between his rigorous training schedule and her new fake relationship with Naruto, Hinata was exhausted.

She was met half way up the road by Ino and Sakura. Ino smiled brightly at her, but Sakura kept her green eyes slightly averted.

"Where is your new boyfriend, Hinata?" Ino asked slyly. "He was at the flower shop again this morning."

Hinata grimaced as Ino nudged her in the ribs with an elbow.

She had to admit that being showered with all of Naruto's attention was nice at first, even if it was not real. But, lately, the attention had become a bit more than Hinata could handle. Everyday, he gave her a lavender chrysanthemum in front of everyone, including Sakura. He insisted on holding hands everywhere they went, making kissy faces at the most inappropriate times to ensure they got the most attention.

Hinata was starting to have anxiety attacks from all the unwanted attention that their relationship was drawing.

Shino and Kiba had been following her around, interrogating her with questions about Naruto. Ino was constantly teasing her and giving relationship advice. And Sakura had been acting strange and distant ever since Naruto returned to the village. Even Jiraiya and Kakashi seemed to have an odd amount of interest in the romance.

She had never spoken to Kakashi about anything but missions and ninjutsu before, and yet that morning, he stopped to ask her how things were going between her and Naruto.

"I'm sorry! I don't think I can do this anymore!" Hinata squealed to Naruto later that day.

After he insisted on presenting her with another lavender chrysanthemum before air kissing her in front of everyone, she ran out of the restaurant and down an alley to hide. She squatted down between a dumpster and a stack of discarded newspapers, but Naruto still managed to find her.

He slid down and sat next to her on the ground before he grumbled, "This is a bit exhausting. And I can't tell you how painful those kissing sounds are…"

Hinata started to laugh. Naruto laughed too.

After catching her breath, she asked, "Can we go back to the way it was before? I miss just talking to you."

Naruto smiled a full toothed smile down at Hinata. "You're the only person who has ever really listened to me. Whether I say something stupid or something smart. We haven't been able to do much talking lately with all this relationship stuff, ya know. I miss it too."

Hinata looked up into Naruto's eyes. She had attempted to ask him this question several times in the past, but he always avoided answering her. "Naruto? Can you tell me why the village shunned you for so long?"

Naruto looked away from Hinata. "You know about the nine tailed fox attack on the village?"

Hinata nodded. "It happened right before I was born."

"It happened on the day that I was born," Naruto said. He lifted up his shirt showing his muscular abdomen. The black marks of a seal mark encircled his belly button.

Hinata's face burned slightly as she watched Naruto become partially shirtless, but timidly, she inspected the seal. She activated her byakugan at the same time. The seal was strong, but something very powerful was weakening it. She could see the intense inhuman chakra pressing against it. "Is it… is this…"

"The demon was sealed inside of me." Naruto finished for her. He looked at her as though waiting to see if she was going to stay or run away.

Hinata inactivated her byakugan. She left her hand on top of the seal and just stared at it.

"I've seen him before… the fox demon." Naruto continued. "His name is Kurama. He is angry all the time, but sometimes he lends me his chakra… He says it's because if I die, he dies, but I think he actually likes me. Jiraiya says I shouldn't take anything from Kurama or believe anything he says. He says he definitely doesn't like me –in fact he probably hates me. And Kurama is always trying to manipulate me, so he can break the seal and take over my body completely."

Hinata removed her hand and smiled reassuringly. She hated to tell Naruto that the seal was already pretty weak. But she knew if any one could bring a hateful demon over to his side, it was Naruto Uzumaki.

"I'm sorry Naruto –I guess I didn't make a great pretend girlfriend." Hinata whispered, changing the subject.

"It's alright." Naruto said, grabbing hold of Hinata's hand, relieved that she was not afraid of him. He smiled down at her again. "Now I need to tell you another secret."

Hinata looked down at their hands intertwined together. "What?"

Naruto leaned closer to Hinata and whispered in her ear. "I never wanted you to be just my pretend girlfriend."

In response, Hinata abruptly turned her face towards Naruto. He leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, surprising both himself and Hinata.

Neither of them pulled away however. Their lips remained touching, softly lingering in the kiss.

"Found you two!" A voice came from above them.

Naruto and Hinata separated quickly, as though they were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Jiraiya squatted above, on the lid of the dumpster that hid them in the alley.

"The hokage needs to speak to both of you. And I'm supposed to escort you there. So come on… stop making out in corners, yoouuu twooo." Suggestively, Jiraiya wiggled his eyebrows at the young couple.

"You Perv." Naruto grumbled.

* * *

Tsunade, Kakashi, Hiashi and Hinata's grandfather, Hiro, were waiting for them when they finally reached the office.

Naruto's first thought was that this was an odd group to gather. However, Hinata's heart skipped a beat.

She had more experience with the formalities of an arranged marriage, since most Hyuga marriages were arranged. She recognized right away that Kakashi and Jiraiya would be the closest that Naruto had to parents. And Hiashi and Hiro had been there when Hanabi's intended marriage was arranged.

Plus the sour look on her father's face would be the expected response to a union between her and Naruto.

"Come in, you two." Tsunade waved them into her office.

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and then moved closer to the desk, after Jiraiya nudged them from behind.

"We all are here to discuss something very important, which has to do with the both of you."

Tsunade looked at Hinata. "Do you know that Naruto is the nine tailed fox's jinchuuriki? The demon was seal inside of him when he was a baby."

Hinata nodded. "He just told me..."

"Good. So I don't have to tell you that it is very important that a repeat of the attack that occurred sixteen years ago, never happen." Tsunade continued abruptly. "An arrangement was made soon after your birth Hinata. Between your father and the third hokage. To make sure that the nine tailed fox stays sealed."

"What kind of arrangement?!" Naruto demanded for Hinata.

"Lady Tsunade's grandmother was sealed with a binding seal to several different byakugan users during her long life time, in order to keep Kurama sealed and docile." Hiro replied, hobbling forward slightly. "They typically came from the main family line... it is the purest and the strongest, and none of our byakugans are sealed by the caged bird curse seal. As a younger man, I was the last to be sealed to her before she died."

Hinata looked over at Naruto who was scowling around the room. She asked softly. "Y-you want me to be sealed to Naruto?"

"Yes." Hiashi replied. "That is what the training has been about for the last couple of weeks. You are about to turn sixteen in a couple of days. The agreement says you must be sealed to the jinchuuriki before your sixteenth birthday."

Naruto reached out and grabbed Hinata's hand. "Ok. But only if Hinata is ok with it."

"It's not that simple." Hiro said. "The sannin told us that the demon inside of you has taken over a couple of times already, for short periods. It appears Kurama has much more freedom inside of you than he had in Mito when I was sealed to her. She was not a perfect jinchuuriki, but she had better control over him by that point. For that reason, Hinata is going to have to be sealed to both of you. And you are going to have to trick the tailed beast into accepting her."

* * *

That night, Naruto lay with one of his arms underneath the back of his head. He could not sleep, so he stared up at the ceiling and counted the cracks.

Hinata's grandfather made it sound like there was a chance that Hinata could be seriously injured or even killed during the sealing, and the only one who stood between her and the nine tailed fox was him.

Naruto did not want Hinata to do anything that could potentially kill her, especially not for him. The nine tailed fox was his responsibility. Even if he was not falling in love with her (which he was) he would have wanted to protect her. So Grandma Tsunade would just have to find another way, because he refused to go through with the sealing.

He could tell Hinata was upset when he told her his decision. But she only quietly nodded and kept her thoughts to herself.

Both Jiraiya and Kakashi tried to convince him to change his mind, but then, they said that there might be another way.

Tsunade agreed to try the wood style user for now. But she said if Naruto did not start to show better control over the bijou, she was going to order the sealing whether he agreed to it or not.

Hinata kneeled quietly outside of her father's office waiting for the shinobi inside to emerge. Her father was so happy after Naruto refused to be sealed to Hinata, that on her sixteenth birthday, he started to search for an arranged marriage for her.

The problem was that Lady Tsunade forbade Hiashi to seal Hinata to anyone else. And once the other families heard that Hinata might eventually be sealed to Naruto, none of them wanted anything to do with her.

She looked down at her hands folded in her lap. She was not nearly as upset about that, as she was about the fact that Naruto had started to avoid her.

He tried to pretend that he was not staying away on purpose. But a couple of times, she watched him duck down another alley to avoid walking past her in the street. So she knew he was avoiding her.

She had not seen him at all in weeks. He left on a mission to help the village hidden in the sand and Gaara the Kazekage. When he returned, he never sought her out to say hello or have their usual talks. Then he left again with Sakura and the new team Kakashi on a mission to search for Orochimaru and Sasuke.

The rumors were already circulating through the village that Naruto and Hinata had broken up. She spent most of her time hidding in the Hyuga Compound or with Shino and Kiba in the village. They were good at avoiding the subject, and they scared off anyone who dared to ask her any questions.

"Lady Hinata, you've been summoned to the Hokage's office." Ko appeared in front of her, peering down at her kneeling on the floor.

Hinata turned and looked at the door to Hiashi's office. "But what about..."

"I'll tell your father when he comes out." Ko replied. "They say it's urgent."

Hinata nodded and then moved towards the door.

She crossed town swiftly. She did not even bother to change from the kimono that she wore for her father's guests. Her hair was still pinned up in the back, a few strands dripping down softly against the back of her neck.

She pulled the kimono together as she entered the office. It was still a bit tight around her chest, which had grown even more over the last year. She wished she had time to change.

"Ah! Hinata!" Lady Tsunade called to her. "Come in."

Hinata approached the hokage's desk. Shizune was the only other one in there.

"Team Kakashi has made contact with Orochimaru. But we have a problem." The fifth hokage informed her.

* * *

Hinata flew through the woods behind Yamato's clone and next to her grandfather, Hiro. The wood style shinobi sent a clone back to the village to deliver the message to Lady Tsunade that Naruto lost control of the nine tails and then took off after Orochimaru and Kabuto.

Yamato's wood style was not nearly as powerful as Lord Hashirama, and it took a lot longer to subdue the tailed beast than he had hoped. After injuring Sakura, Naruto managed to use the distraction to slip away, completely locked onto the snake sannin and his intent to kill Orochimaru.

Sakura, Sai, and Yamato went after Naruto, but Yamato was not certain that even after they located the demon again that he would be able to subdue him. Likely, the nine tails had fully taken over Naruto by then, and the only way to get him back was to seal both of them to Hinata.

It did not take long to come upon the path of destruction that Naruto left in his wake. An enormous crater and the demolished bridge which led to a path of splintered trees.

"Naruto did this?" Hinata asked softly, stunned. If the demon could do all of this, how did they think she possibly could help?

Yamato's clone nodded. "He was already at three tails when he got away."

Hiro looked around him and sighed, "Kurama will be difficult to reason with now. This would've never happened if the sealing occurred weeks ago when it was supposed to. Stubborn boy! That stubbornness maybe the only thing that saves him now."

"Grandfather, we can bring Naruto back though? Right?" Hinata asked alarmed now. She was willing to do anything for her friend even if it meant sacrificing herself.

Hiro turned his white eyes toward his granddaughter and put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry we will bring him back. During my time as the demon tamer, I got know Kurama well... he won't outwit me."


	3. Enter The Uchiha

**Weekly update... hope you enjoy!**

 **Thanks for the comments, favorites, and follows. Let me know if anything could be done better, etc. Will be updating this story weekly and depending on feedback, prior chapters maybe updated as well.**

* * *

Yamato's clone, Hiro, and Hinata followed Naruto's path of destruction further west.

As they moved deeper into the forest, the full picture of the nine tailed fox's castrophic anger became clearer and clearer. Splintered trees turned to sawdust piles. Forest creatures ripped to shreds and trampled. More cratered areas of complete obliteration. Hinata felt nauseous, and a chill set in on her spine.

What was this thing that resided inside of Naruto?

Every child of Konoha knew the stories about the nine tailed fox demon. Most of those, who were alive to see the tailed beast flatten the village, feared him and his host with an unparalleled fervor. But it was different among the Hyuga clan, who raised their children to revere the tailed beasts as the awe-inspiring, godlike creatures that they were, as opposed to fearing or coveting them as weapons of destruction.

Even her father, who always had a fair amount of contempt for Hinata's friendship with Naruto, never actually feared him like the rest of the village. So when Hinata first found out Naruto was a jinchuuriki, she was more curious than afraid.

Now that she stood in the midst of a twenty foot crater, which the demon created as he passed through the forest, her reaction took a turn for the worst. She felt like her stomach was forcing its way up into her throat. And the chill was setting deeper.

However, her grandfather, who was usually a serious and reserved man like most of the Hyuga clan, was currently exploring the destroyed forest and mumbling gleefully to himself, as if they were on a guided tour of Kurama's natural habitat.

The real Yamato radioed his clone and informed their party that team Kakashi had finally located Naruto.

"Tell him not to engage Kurama until we get there." Hiro instructed. "They will only make him angrier."

The clone repeated the message into the radio and then said, "Yamato says to hurry. Naruto is attempting to break his way into Orochimaru's hideout."

The three travelers no longer lingered and started to move faster. After awhile, they finally reached the end of the trampled forest as it transitioned into a dead plain.

They found Yamato, Sakura, and Sai about a mile within this dead plain. Team Kakashi was hiding behind a large rock, which did not sit far from an even larger rock… more like a small stone hill that was cracked and split down the center.

The real Yamato reabsorbed his clone and said, "Naruto is inside the hideout now. But its been quiet for a few minutes... I'm not sure what's happening.

"Neither Orochimaru nor Kabuto could stop Kurama that easily, so unless they're dead, there is no good explanation for the sudden silence."

Yamato held up a necklace in his hands with shards of a crushed blue crystal. "I cannot suppress the tailed beast's power without this... I hope you have a plan."

Hiro activated his byakugan and inspected the hide out. Hinata activated her dojutsu as well, but her telescope eyes were not nearly as powerful as her grandfather's, and all she could make out were a few distorted shapes underground. One was an ominous power, throbbing brightly even beneath a foot of earth and rock… that had to be Naruto.

"Kurama is in there… pacing back and forth. And there is someone else nearby. Also with powerful chakra. The demon seems to be distracted by this one particular individual… but he is not attacking." Hiro paused to consider what he was seeing.

"Sasuke Uchiha…" Hiro whispered, realization dawning on him. "It must be his sharingan that has stopped Kurama."

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, anxiously. She moved to head towards the hideout, but Yamato grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"No! Sakura!"

She yelled, trying to free her arm, "They'll try and kill each other!"

Hiro scoffed. "The Uchiha doesn't have a chance. But… it appears Kurama has not figured this out. Kurama's higher thought must not have taken over the boy's mind yet. He must still be going off of instinct alone."

"What do you mean, Grandfather?" Hinata asked. She too was very anxious. She knew as well as Sakura the history between Sasuke and Naruto. Add in a crazed demon and who knew how this stand off would end.

"The sharingan's control over a tailed beast works solely by fear. The Uchiha can suppress the demons' chakra by overpowering the tailed beast and breaking him to their will. That is how Madara gained control over Kurama and brought him to Konohagakure to battle Lord First.

Of course, Sasuke does not have Madara's power –at least not yet. So if he were to challenge the nine tails, Kurama would surely kill him." Hiro replied. Then the old man smiled slightly. "Kurama himself would realize this, but the boy looks enough like Madara that his instincts can't tell the difference."

"Sasuke may have unwittingly given us the opening we need. If Naruto's actions are still driven by Karuma's instincts alone, he fears Sasuke just enough to subdue his anger. Just enough to present Hinata to him."

"WHAT?" The whole group said in unison, looking at the old man like he was crazy. Even Sai appeared uncharacteristically engaged in the conversation.

Hiro looked back at the group cautiously. "Let me speak with my granddaughter alone."

Yamato nodded. "Ok but we only have a limited amount of time."

Hiro took Hinata out of ear shot. "There are certain things only the clan should know. The byakugans use to subdue tailed beasts is a village secret. How it works is a clan secret..."

Hinata nodded quietly.

"The byakugan's control over the tailed beasts is the complete opposite of the sharingan –it works by compassion, respect, and a bit of engrained loyalty to Hamura Otsutsuki, who was the original demon tamer. He was sealed to his twin brother, after Hagoromo became the original jinchuuriki to the ten tailed beast.

Even from the moon, Hagoromo was able to call upon Hamura to suppress the ten tails chakra when necessary. We, Hyugas, are the keepers of these old secrets... our nindo -we see everything in the present and in the past, we see where others are blind, we see to protect the village.

Kurama's instinct will draw Naruto to you, and make him want to protect you. We can seal you to both of them then."

"And this will bring Naruto back?" Hinata asked. She looked down at her hands, which she had anxiously balled into fists in her lap. "Will this work?"

Hiro looked at his granddaughter. "Granddaughter, you have the perfect temperament for this job... bountiful respect, compassion, and loyalty. The tailed beast can sense these things. Kurama will not be able to resist you."

* * *

Hinata hid in the shadows of a large cavernous opening in Orochimaru's underground hide out.

Naruto paced about ten feet away from Sasuke. His body was ripped to shreds, and bent over into a crouched beast-like posture. Blood and open wounds covered his skin under the thick layer of chakra that surrounded him. He had five tails now, as well as sharp white teeth and claws. His eyes were fierce bits of fire that snipped and snarled at Sasuke without recognition.

Every time Sasuke took a step forward, Naruto emitted a deep throaty growl and moved back.

In response, a malicious smirk crossed Sasuke's face. Snarkily he asked, "So you're afraid of me? Eh?"

Hinata urged her feet to take a step forward, but they were suddenly glued to the ground. She was not exactly sure where she fit into this scenario.

Sasuke's eyes were enough to cause a grown man to wet his pants, and the intense power of the concentrated chakra that wafted off of Naruto, stifled Hinata's breath.

She coughed.

At the sound, both Sasuke and Naruto abruptly turned to look at her.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and said, incredulously, "Hinata Hyuga."

"Why are you here?" He asked, looking at her with disdain. Like she was an ant who was sent to stop two dragons.

Hinata ignored Sasuke. She blocked out everything, even the terror that filled her heart after seeing Naruto in his current state. She focused on her feelings for Naruto as her grandfather instructed. She thought of how sad and protective she felt, the first time she saw him shunned by the rest of the village. How happy she felt the first time he spoke to her. How nervous she felt the first time they touched hands. The electricity that she felt the first time that they kissed. She thought of all of these moments, but she spoke to Kurama.

In a soft wavering voice, she called to the nine tailed fox, "Kurama."

She held one trembling hand out to him. "Come here."

Naruto looked cautiously into Hinata's white eyes. She activated her byakugan. She could see the full form of the demon that Naruto was becoming. But she controlled her own fear, resisting the urge to back away from him.

The fear drained from Naruto's foxy features. It was replaced by pure intrigue.

The nine tails tilted his head slightly to the right as he inspected her. Hinata gained a bit more courage. She called again in a firmer voice. "Kurama. Come here."

He got up off of his haunches and stalked across the cavern to Hinata like a wolf on the hunt. When he got close enough to her, he sniffed at her. Satisfied with her smell, he crouched down and moved closer, rubbing his body against her legs. She resisted the urge to wince. His dense chakra burned against her skin. Its power was so alluring, Hinata hardly noticed Naruto's blood smeared where he rubbed his body. His five tails swirled around her, cocooning her without touching her, and a deep rumbling purr vibrated through his entire body.

Sasuke scowled and demanded, "What is this?!"

Naruto's head snapped back towards the Uchiha. He bared his sharp teeth and a warning snarl came out. One of his tails snaked out and stabbed at Sasuke.

This time it was Sasuke who took a step back to avoid being skewered. Kurama's instinct to protect Hinata outweighed any fear that he had for Sasuke.

Satisfied that Sasuke knew his place, Naruto turned his full attention back to his conquest. He pressed his body harder against Hinata, until she tripped on the back of the kimono that her grandfather insisted she continue to wear, and she fell onto her butt.

Her cheeks burned, but she remained focused. Hinata was determined to get Naruto back. Again she said, soothingly, "Kurama."

Naruto curled up into Hinata's lap and rested his head on her chest, still purring. The number of tails was now down to four.

Sasuke moved forward again. Though his face showed no signs of it, his body language spoke a mix of frustration and curiosity. What was Hinata doing there? And how had she managed to take down the beast, who split Orochimaru's hideout in half, with a few words and a touch?

Angrily Sasuke sneered at the pacified demon and said, "I always knew you were a weak-minded fool, Naruto."

Naruto lifted his head from Hinata's chest and growled at Sasuke again, as he was coming too close.

This time, Sasuke did not stop his approach, the intent to kill burned in his eyes. But before he reached his once best friend, Hiro appeared between them with the rest of Team Kakashi.

"Sasuke..." Sakura called to him as soon as she saw him. "We came for you. You could help us get Naruto back and..."

Sasuke did not greet nor even look at his old friend. He abruptly interrupted her and said. "Sakura. Whether Naruto lives or dies is not my problem. Nor do I want it to be."

The old man moved in front of Sasuke before the Uchiha had time to un-sheath his sword. The elder Hyuga was swifter than he appeared. He blocked Sasuke's sword arm, and said, "Look inside of him, Hinata."

Hinata looked further into Naruto with her byakugan. Sasuke left the sword sheathed and pushed past Hiro's arm, irritated. He followed Hinata with his sharingan.

Hinata felt herself pulled to another plane. She was in an enormous hollow chamber. Dripping water echoed like loud clanging bells from the ceiling full of pipes. Large gates set at the far end.

Sasuke was already walking towards the gate.

There was a thick layer of that powerful inhuman chakra seeped from the gates. But as Sasuke and Hinata moved forward, it slowly slipped back inside.

From the darkness on the other side of the gate, two large fox eyes appeared like lit fires.

They looked at Sasuke first. A deep growling voice came from behind the gate. "A little baby Uchihan! For what do I have the honor of being graced by your malignant presence.

Ah... I see you have eyes like Madara and skill beyond your years. The fact that you can see me here without the power of Hamura is impressive. But don't be too arrogant. You don't have your ancestor's power yet.

Still you interest me... you have an ominous darkness inside of you which will grant you power beyond your elders. Come back when you are stronger and you're worthy of my wrath. Then we will see who wins this time. In the mean while, don't kill Naruto. Or you will come to regret it, little Uchiha."

"I don't know what you are talking about. Nor do I care." Sasuke replied unimpressed. He leaned closer to the gates. "So you are what is inside Naruto? Huh. Interesting."

As the chakra subsided further beyond the gates, it revealed Naruto lying unconscious on the ground. Hinata ran to him, cradling his head in her arms. He was back to his normal self on in this plane, and his body was no longer torn to shreds. He moaned and stirred slightly as she moved him. His eyes fluttered behind his eyelids. He was starting to wake up.

"That kid." Kurama growled disdainfully at his jinchuuriki. "Mito was a great and powerful host, worthy of being my warden. Her successor was not nearly as powerful, but she made a respectable opponent. And then they put me inside of that kid."

Now Kurama's eyes looked unimpressed. He shifted them towards Hinata. "The only thing he has... is good taste in women."

"Leave the boy and approach me, Haruma's descendent!" Kurama demanded.

Hinata reluctantly lay Naruto back on the ground and moved forward. She walked up as close to the gate as she dared. Then she kneeled and placed her hand through the bars like she was instructed to do by her grandfather. "I'm here to offer you something."

"What are **_you_** going to offer _**me,**_ byakugan princess?"

"Freedom from this particular jail." Hinata looked at the seals which held the gates closed. They were weakening, but she had a feeling the demon did not know exactly how weak that they already were.

 _Earlier._..

"Love is the one thing that controls Kurama far better than fear. Despite what some might say, Lord third was a very clever old man. He chose you specifically because you are a girl and close to Naruto's age. Kurama will be affected by the jinchuuriki's feelings for you, but you have to make sure those feelings are enough." Hiro told Hinata. "Eventually the jinchuuriki may find a way to control Kurama on his own. It is your job to suppress the demon's chakra enough for Naruto to keep control, right now. No matter how much he hates Naruto, you have to make sure he loves and respects you equally.

Mito and Kushina had much better control over the nine tails because they grew up with love. Parents, spouses, children... Mito was an adult when she became jinchuuriki, and the fear of the nine tails had all but died by the time Kushina took over. Naruto, however, was not only an orphan, but he also endured the worst fear. If I know Kurama, he has tried to exploit Naruto's isolation and loneliness. But I think he has underestimated his host. I don't know exactly what kind of kid, Naruto is, but for Minato's seals to have lasted this long..." Hiro drifted off into deep thought.

Hinata smiled at her grandfather. "Naruto is special."

 _Back inside the chamber._..

Kurama's snout appeared from the shadows and against the gates, touching Hinata's hand. He said to her, "you are as light and as pure as the Uchihan is dark and corrupted. I sense nothing dark inside of you, byakugan princess. The kid loves you, and everything he possesses will be mine."

"So I accept you." Kurama said, lazily. "Your grandfather, Hiro, will seal us. But you must come back and visit me often. And remember that you are mine before you are his."

Hinata felt the connection between her hand and Kurama's nose intensify. A mark appeared at the tip of his snout. Outside of this plane, Hiro was sealing her to Naruto and Kurama.

Hinata nodded in agreement, even though, she was not sure what the fox meant by he wanted everything that Naruto possessed, and his hostile tone did not put her at ease.

She looked over at Sasuke. "My grandfather will break that seal on the gate soon. You don't want to be here when that happens."

Sasuke ignored Hinata and narrowed his eyes at Kurama sneering. "I'll see you again, Fox."

"Knowing the kid, I'm sure you will, little Uchiha." Kurama growled back.

Sasuke disappeared.

Hinata turned back to Kurama, and smiled weakly. "I'll come to visit you soon."

"A promise is a promise." Kurama's wily smile appeared behind the bars.

Hinata left the plane just as the seals over the gate finally broke.

Back in real time...

She deactivated her byakugan, and found herself seated with a very bloody and wounded Naruto. The tails, teeth and claws were gone. He was back in human form and lying limp in her arms. Her grandfather had his hands resting on both of them. They were marked just like Kurama.

Hinata looked up to find Sakura, Yamato, and Sai staring down at them, with concern plastered all over their faces. Sasuke was gone.

"Naruto?" Hinata looked back down at the boy in her arms. Panicked, she said, "He isn't waking up."

Sakura moved forward. "Let me see. I'll try and heal him."

Hinata lay Naruto on the ground and stood back as Sakura moved over him. "Oh Naruto... these wounds are horrible."

Sakura wiped at her eyes. She removed what was left of his tattered shirt and set to work, healing him. Hinata assisted, but she wanted to do more. She watched anxiously as Naruto's wounds slowly healed.

Finally he opened his eyes, looking up to the top of the spacious cavern. He mumbled something incoherent before turning his head to the right, catching a glimpse of Hinata. "Hinata? Why... why are you here?"

He lifted his hand and placed it on her cheek, as though unsure if she was solid or some whisp of a spirit come to revive him. She covered his hand with her hand. "I came to bring you back."

Naruto grimaced as Sakura continued to heal his body. "Thank you."

* * *

Back in Konoha...

Naruto stood in the middle of a jeweler's shop, eyeing the bracelets behind the counter. He looked down into the pathetic state of his money pouch and then back up to the expensive bracelet that he wished he could purchase.

He could not remember anything after he lost control on the bridge or before he woke up to Hinata's face peering down at him. But later, he saw the destruction that the forest and the bridge suffered from his wrath. And he was told that Sasuke and Hinata were able to calm him down and bring him back.

Seeing the seal mark on Hinata's neck for the first time, knowing she risked her life for him, caused shame and anger to stir inside of Naruto. He wanted to do something for her, something worthy of what she had done for him. But he could not think of anything that he was capable of giving to her.

 _'Naruto... the byakugan princess will never truly be yours... give up...'_

Naruto looked around him, dropping the money purse on the ground. "huh?"

 _'Naruto... you will never be worthy of her... You're just an orphan. She is royalty.._. _'_

He picked up the purse, the shop owner eyeing him suspiciously. He mumbled, "Sorry."

Walking out the shop, he wondered if he might be losing it. Ever since waking up in Orochimaru's hideout, that same deep voice had been taunting him... constantly.

It was Kurama. With the sealing between the three of them, releasing the nine tailed fox from his previous cage and Minato's seal, the barrier between the plane where Kurama was trapped inside of Naruto and real time had grown a lot thinner. The demon could now communicate freely with Naruto whenever it pleased him.

This sudden turn of events was annoying to say the least.

' _Nothing to say in return?_ '

Naruto smiled forcefully and waved as he passed by Konohamaru and some of his young friends. Not stopping to speak, he turned his head to the side and hissed through clinched teeth. "Why don't you shut the hell up!"

' _Testy today... aren't we?_ '

"Look. I'm not gonna start a fight with you in the middle of the street. Everyone will think I'm crazy! We have to share this body, so I don't see why we can't get along." Naruto continued to whisper to himself as he made his way towards his apartment. "Besides, it does not matter what you say, Fox. Hinata and I will be together."

' _I wouldn't be so certain about that kid... I'm the one with all of the power. One day she will realize this and choose me over you. Then the body will be mine.'_ Kurama chuckled a deep hollow laugh.

Naruto growled back, frustrated. "Hinata would never... You... Fox... Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

' _Kid, deep down inside, you know I'm right..._ ' the voice faded, as Naruto felt a light touch on his arm.

He jumped. "What the!"

Hinata giggled. "Sorry... I didn't mean to scare you."

She looked up and down the street. They were alone in front of Naruto's apartment. "Who were you talking to?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and laughed uncomfortably. His face turned red with embarrassment. "What?! No one! Just thinking out loud!"

He noticed whenever Hinata was near, Kurama was always silent. If anyone else talked to him, the demon chose to give a play by play commentary.

He linked his arm through Hinata's arm, deciding that he needed a demon free day. He looked at his watch. "Shoot! Kakashi is back. I'm supposed to meet him and Yamato at the training field now."

Naruto looked down at Hinata, not wanting to let her get away. "Comin' with me?"

Hinata nodded. "I was headed there too."


	4. The Tale of Airi & The Hardworking Ninja

Hiashi and Hiro sat across from each other at the rectangular shaped chabudai, sipping tea.

"My granddaughter is getting stronger." Hiro took a sip from his cup. The steam curled up from the liquid's opaque surface, dancing around his clean shaven face and long slicked back graying hair. "We should keep up her training when she is not spending time with the boy."

Hiashi nodded, placing his own cup on the table. "But will that be enough."

"Besides his vulnerability to love, Kurama's next biggest weakness has always been, being way too impulsive." Hiro advised his son. "He allowed Hinata to be sealed to him without realizing he was exchanging one cage for another.

With the seal, Hinata's love for Naruto will not allow Kurama to turn against his jinchuuriki, and as his jinchuuriki, Naruto's love for Hinata won't allow Kurama to use the seal against her. He'll have realized this by now. I'm sure he has started to try to manipulate them… to try and turn them against each other."

"He won't ever change Hinata's heart." Hiashi responded, confidently. "I've tried her entire life."

"I'm glad you're finally realizing this." Hiro replied without any expression on his face. He sipped from his hot cup again, not wanting to let the tea get too cool.

Hiashi looked over the rim of his cup at his father, trying to decide if this was one of his father's many passive aggressive digs. He frowned. "But can we trust that the boy is also not fickle."

"Hinata trusts him. You should have more confidence in your daughter's judgement." Hiro could tell Hiashi was not buying into this, so he continued.

"I also want to point to the fact that even as impulsive as Kurama can be, he accepted Hinata far too easily..." A slight chuckle caught upon Hiro's lips and stirring in his white eyes. "I think there is another unexpected bond at play that has the kyuubi caught in a trap of his own making."

Hiashi stared at his father blankly. He knew the path that Hiro was attempting to travel down, and he was reluctant to go there with him.

"There has only been one other time that the nine tailed fox allowed one of Hamura's descendants to be sealed directly to him."

Hiashi sighed, raising his tea cup in front of his face again to block Hiro's intense gaze.

"It was one of Airi's reincarnations." The older man narrowed his eyes at his son. "You know that I'm right."

"It is true that Hinata was born an heir. If Airi was reborn in this time, it would be in the form of a Hyuga heiress." Hiashi conceded. "And Hinata's demeanor is very much like history describes Airi. But... the rest... I'm hesitant to stomach."

The secret history of the Hyugas' main family bloodline extended all the way back to the first of Hamura's descendants on earth and his youngest daughter, Airi Otustsuki.

* * *

A thousand years prior...

One day while on the moon, Airi accidentally came upon her father as he was called to earth through the seal that bound Hamura and Hagoromo to each other.

Curious about the human clans on earth, she secretly slipped through the teleportation portal behind Hamura and came to earth herself.

Once on earth, she became very lost and wandered for several weeks alone. Finally, she encountered her cousin, Asura Otustsuki, while he was on his long journey to solve the problem given to him by his father.

Not realizing who they were to each other, Asura accepted Airi as one of the followers of Hagoromo's teachings and took her with him to the village that he was supposed to help. During this time, Airi fell in love with Asura and decided to stay on earth to follow him.

Months later when they returned to Hagoromo and he named Asura, his heir, they found out that they were actually cousins. By this time, Asura had fallen in love with a human girl named Kanna, and not long after, he married her.

Airi was heartbroken, but she remained loyal to Asura despite this. That bond would later bring their descendant clans back together under one village.

After Asura vowed to reincarnate to continue his feud with his elder brother, Indra, Airi secretly vowed to reincarnate until Asura loved her in return. Then she left Hagoromo's village alone and wandered west.

Years later, she stumbled into the forest now protected by the nine tailed fox. She was caught by Kurama and was held as his prize. He called her, his byakugan princess. More years past and finally a small clan of humans came to the forest to rescue her from the giant fox demon.

Airi was happy to be rescued, but she would not allow the warriors to fight or try to capture the nine tails to save her. Kurama saw Airi's kindness and compassion towards him despite how he treated her and let her leave with them.

Brought back to the human village, Airi married the clan leader and had several children creating the Hyuga main family bloodline. She lived among them until she died.

* * *

"And if Airi has reincarnated in this time that means Asura and Indra have too." Hiro lifted one eyebrow.

"That's the part I choose not to believe." Hiashi replied.

"You don't want to believe it because you know it's highly possible that Naruto…"

"What do you want from me?" Hiashi interrupted abruptly. He knew his father was fishing for something.

"The stronger that Hinata becomes, the further apart the two children can be. Jiraiya is right. Naruto will eventually need to take another long journey in order to gain total control over the demon fox. Reports of the group that targeted the kazekage are becoming more and more numerous. They've taken the two tailed cat from Kumo. Matatabi is definitely a pussy cat compared to Kurama but the feat is still impressive.

You'll have to teach the boy to use the seal to call Hinata to him when he needs her." Hiro continued. "He's an Uzumaki and a descendant of Hagoromo. He has the capability to use the seal better and in more ways than any Hyuga ever has."

"We don't even pass that knowledge among the clan." Now Hiashi narrowed his eyes at his father. "To use the seal to call those bound to you is forbidden."

"It's not our knowledge to keep secret, my son." Hiro sipped his tea again. "As clan leader, you are only keeping it safe for the next Uzumaki jinchuuriki. It's Naruto's jutsu to use or protect. Teach it to him."

* * *

Hinata swung her bare legs into the cool water of the waterfall. She lifted her face toward the sky and let the warm sun rays kiss her skin.

With her eyes closed, she listened to the rhythmic sounds of Naruto's grunts and kiais. The damp air hugged Hinata's body, saturating through her clothes, the white t-shirt that she usually wore under her lavender jacket and the pants that she rolled up above her knees so she could stick her feet in the water.

Water splashed off the two Narutos, who stood on either side of her, soaking her long black hair as it lay slick across her face. The day was hot enough that the cool waterfall was just perfect. Hinata sighed, contently.

They had already been there for the entire morning. Kakashi was reading his book in the shade of a nearby tree, and Yamato kept his wood style ready for back up on the ground. Sakura and Sai showed up from time to time at the edge of the woods to watch, but Hinata got a front row seat.

She sat in the middle of the large wooden bridge, which crossed in front of the waterfall. Yamato created the bridge for Naruto and his clones to stand on, as they attempted to cut the flow of the waterfall with his change in chakra nature.

There were presently twenty clones on the bridge. Twenty half-dressed Narutos with water dripping off muscular arms, chests, and torsos. Hinata tried to pretend like she was not looking, but she was definitely sneaking a peek.

Naruto's focus was remarkable. He had been going at it for six hours straight already and he did not appear to be ready to stop anytime soon.

Her cheeks burning, Hinata cleared her mind of all of the impure thoughts she was having about the waterfall and Naruto's impressive body. Her job was to focus on keeping the nine tail's chakra suppressed and separate from Naruto's natural chakra. And as long as he was working hard, she knew she had to stop fantasizing and work hard too.

Keeping Kurama at bay while Naruto accessed his own enormous reserves of chakra was much more difficult than Hinata first thought.

Just her presence suppressed Kurama's chakra naturally, making him more cooperative and less antagonistic. But when Naruto accessed his own chakra, it was like opening the flood gate of a gigantic damned river. His chakra flowed in such large quantities and with such force that Hinata could barely hold her focus on either seal. The enormous release seemed to trigger an even larger chakra response from Kurama, who began to try and take over.

The real Naruto stood to her right. His chakra glowed much brighter and denser than the chakra spread out into his clones. He was also the only Naruto with Kurama's chakra also faintly visible.

She could see some of Naruto's chakra was already entangled with the nine tail's chakra only a few minutes into the training session. But seeing and manipulating chakra were too totally different skill sets. Seeing came easily to Hinata, manipulating without physical contact... not so much.

She had learned some chakra manipulation with the bit of medical ninjutsu that she picked up after the chunin exam. But to manipulate through the two seals was even less tactile and more like genjutsu. Hiro made her go to Kurenai for help with this.

Hinata spent much of the day unknotting what could only be described as endlessly tangled ball of chakra yarn in order to keep Kurama separate and at bay. All of this while in the company of a half naked young man, who she could not tear her eyes away from.

Finally pulling the two separate chakras apart, Hinata focused even harder to keep them separate. She was pulled into another plane. Again, she found herself in the large chamber with pipes tangled across the ceiling and the drip drop of water echoing in the background.

The large gate now sat slightly open and the seal was gone. One of Karuma's large tails lay through the open gate, lazying whipping to the left and then to the right as a loud snore rumbled from the shadows.

Masked by the darkness of the cage, his large head curled back over the rest of his tails and rested on top of them. As Hinata splashed loudly towards him, Kurama opened one fiery eye and looked at her through the gate.

"Ahh... so you've finally come back to see me, Byakugan Princess." Kurama's deep voice caused the gates to tremble.

"Yes." Hinata smiled timidly and continued forward until she was right at the open gate. She reached out and touched Kurama's one tail which hung outside of the gate. His fur was soft and warm between her fingers.

"You should come even when you aren't trying to keep me distracted." He closed his eye again. "Talking to that dunce, who you seem to love so much... gets old. You are much better company.

He continued, "Have you ever thought that there are much smarter and better looking young shinobi in this village? Why limit yourself to the likes of Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Because I love him." Hinata admitted softly. "I fell in love with Naruto the first time I met him. He stood up to a group of bullies, who were much bigger than him. They were picking on me and Naruto stood between them and me -he even took a punch to the face. That is the kind of person that Naruto is... the kind who throws himself in front of a stranger needing help. The kind who sees worth in everyone's friendship."

"Maybe." Kurama responded, unimpressed. "He is also incurably dense. It only took him a thousand years and a handful of lifetimes just to figure out that you are in love with him. But, I'm sure this love affair is not still doomed, Princess."

Confused, Hinata said, "I don't understand."

Kurama let out a puff of hot air and went back to snoring. He did not respond.

Hinata followed Kurama's tail through the gate and inside of the cage. "I would like it if you and Naruto got along better. He never wants to talk about it, but I can tell when he has been arguing with you. It bothers him terribly.

All of us are in this together, right? We should work together... instead of against each other."

"Such optimism." Kurama rolled to his side slightly, as Hinata ran her hand along his belly. "You are the only reason, I haven't erased Uzumaki from this body yet."

Hinata frowned. The tailed beast could not do that, could he? "Then they would just put you in the body of another jinchuuriki -one who you might find worse than Naruto."

"Who could be worse?" Kurama growled, annoyed. Then he paused. "Unless it was that repugnant Uchiha kid. He's definitely worse."

Kurama's entire body shuddered at the thought. "You should be careful Princess. There is something very wrong with that kid. And he is not done with Naruto -therefore he is not done with you either."

* * *

Hinata was exhausted by the time the sun was setting and the stars and moon were starting to appear like beacons in the sky.

"Naruto! I think that's enough!" Kakashi called up from the ground.

"Not yet!" Naruto yelled back down. "I haven't gotten it yet!"

He went back to grunting and kiaiing, forcefully slicing into the waterfall.

"Naruto…" Kakashi started another protest.

"I have plenty of energy! The night has barely started!" Naruto yelled, interrupting Kakashi with an overabundance of enthusiasm. "I could go all night!"

"I know… I know… but I'm not worried about you." Kakashi raised an eyebrow, as Hinata, who was still seated on the bridge, swayed and nodded off. She almost tumbled off the edge of the bridge, before being caught by one of the Narutos standing closest to her.

The rest of the Narutos disappeared then, and the real one wrapped her in his arms, wiping the water off of her face.

She opened her drowsy eyes and said faintly, "I'm sorry… I'm so weak Naruto… please don't stop –I just need a little rest and then…"

Hinata drifted off to sleep again. Naruto looked up at Kakashi and said, "We're done for today."

"I know." Kakashi replied, sarcastically.

Naruto carried Hinata down to the ground. She softly snored against his chest.

Kakashi eyed his two students warily and said, "We'll start again tomorrow... maybe in the afternoon."

He reached out and felt Hinata's pulse just to make sure she did not actually kill herself. "You're going to have to be more patient, Naruto… less impulsive. Hinata is not use to dealing with the amount of chakra in a day that you regularly expend just to do simple jutsu… You'll knock her out like this, every time. Patience Kid… take more time, be more thorough. Store your chakra in your hands and then expend it slowly… more efficiently, so Hinata is not killing herself trying to keep up with you."

Naruto nodded. He was not too keen on the idea of holding back… ever. That seemed counter productive. But looking down at the sleeping beauty in his arms, now he felt guilty. "I'll take her home."

Naruto carried Hinata across the village towards her house. But as he got closer, he realized he was still half dressed and Hinata had on a soaked white t shirt which revealed almost everything underneath. He could not bring her to her father looking like this. Besides, a part of him selfishly wanted a night alone with her and without the demon harassing him.

He would tell Sakura to say Hinata stayed with her, and he would take her to his apartment. She could sleep in his bed and he would take the couch. No one would ever know.

Reaching his apartment, Naruto fumbled for the lights while attempting not to wake the girl in his arms. He was not successful. So blindly he made his way through the front room to his bedroom, avoiding as many articles of clothing, shoes, and cartons of old food as his memory allowed. Finally, he lay Hinata in his bed.

He kneeled next to the bed and gently brushed the hair out of her face, thinking she grew more beautiful everyday. He had left the window in the bedroom open, so she was softly bathed in the white moonlight. Her shirt was still damp, and in her sleep, she gave a little sneeze.

Naruto wondered if she should change her shirt. He tapped her shoulder softly, but Hinata only mumbled his name, "Naruto", and smiled, before she turned over restarting her soft snore. She sneezed again.

He rubbed the back of his head. She needed to get out of her wet clothes before she caught a cold. But he surely couldn't do it... could he?

As he stood there wondering how much of a pervert Hinata would think that he was, if he just stripped off her wet clothes himself, a knock sounded on the apartment door.

Relieved of his dilemma for the moment, Naruto got up and walked to the door to open it. Sakura was standing on the other side.

"Sakura? What are you doing here?"

"I saw you come this way with Hinata, and I wanted to make sure she's ok." Sakura pushed her way into his apartment. "She looked exhausted after your training session."

Sakura turned on Naruto and looked at him accusingly. "You shouldn't push Hinata so hard..."

"I know. I know. I'm already beating myself up about it. And Kakashi sensei got on me too." Naruto grumbled back. He pointed towards his bedroom. "She's asleep in there. I think she needs to get out of her wet clothes too."

Sakura nodded before turning away to enter the room.

Naruto sat down at the table and waited. Sakura had been especially grumpy since they returned from Orochimaru's hide out. He figured her mood had to do with Sasuke, their complete failure to recover him, and their old teammate's absolute indifference to their presence.

He personally did not remember Sasuke's presence at all, but he was told by both Sai and Yamato that the Uchiha seemed more interested in Kurama than either of his friends.

Yamato attempted to look for Sasuke and to take him by force before they returned to the village, but there was no trace of Sasuke, Orochimaru, or Kabuto by that point.

When they got back to Konoha, Naruto tried to talk to Sakura about Sasuke, but she just bit his head off, telling him to mind his own business.

And so he had minded his own business, but that only seemed to piss her off even more.

Eventually Sakura emerged from his room, shutting the door behind her. She scowled at him. "Hinata needs rest."

"Ok. I'll make sure she gets rest."

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest and narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "I'll be the one to make sure that she gets rest."

She walked across the room grabbed one of Naruto's shirts off the ground and tossed it at him. "Go stay with Kiba or Shikamaru."

"But..." Naruto started to protest.

Sakura walked up to him, jabbing him in the chest. "It's not appropriate for you, a young man, to stay alone with two young ladies in your apartment overnight. Particularly since one of them is your girlfriend! Find somewhere else to stay!"

Naruto allowed himself to be pushed out of the door. His cheeks burned as he grumbled and turned to walk down the stairs to the street.

What was Sakura trying to imply? That he was as pervy as Jiraiya? None of those thoughts had even crossed his mind... well, maybe they had... But, he would never act on them... unless Hinata wanted too. UH! That would never happen. Though Hinata had looked at him differently today -more intense while he had his shirt off. He kind of liked it... But Hinata would never... Would she? WHAT was he thinking?!

'You're becoming as warped as both of your lewd senseis,' growled a deep voice.

"I am not!" Naruto yelled angrily at Kurama, who made himself known as soon as Naruto was a good distance from Hinata.

'Oh no? I share this body with you. I know exactly what your hormones are thinking.'

Naruto did not respond. He was trying to be more sensible. And he knew the angrier he got, the greater chance Kurama could take over with Hinata out of commission.

Pushing the fox from his mind, he wondered how he managed to get kicked out of his own apartment. Now he would spend the night listening to the quips of a bitter demon fox spirit instead of watching his beautiful girlfriend sleep. Begrudgingly, he scaled up the side of a building about a block over and knocked loudly on the window.

Sleepy eyes stared incredulously back at him through the glass. Kakashi opened the window. "Naruto?! I thought you were that stupid cat again."

'"Huh? What cat?" Naruto frowned. He was certain Kakashi liked dogs. When did he start hanging out with cats?

'Does sensei mop top always have on that mask? Seems a bit uncomfortable.'

Kakashi rubbed at his eyes and mumbled, "Never mind... What do you want Naruto?"

"I got kicked out of my apartment." Naruto replied, continuing to ignore Kurama.

"What do you mean you got kicked out?"

"Sakura says I can't stay there with her and Hinata."

'I'm sure pervy junior there completely disagrees with that sentiment.' Kurama howled with laughter.

"Ssh!" Naruto hushed, irritated.

"Why are you shushing me?" Kakashi asked, looking annoyed. "I didn't say anything."

"Just joking!" Naruto squeaked innocently. "Can I stay here?"

Kakashi looked back into his apartment. "Well I have a couch, but..."

"Thanks!" Naruto said, quickly sliding in through the window and heading towards the couch before Kakashi changed his mind.

'Well this place is a lot neater than your disaster of an apartment. I guess all humans don't live in such filth.'

"What do you care?" Naruto whispered. "You're a fox who lives in a leaky cage inside of my stomach. I wouldn't exactly call your usual accommodations classy."

'I still have standards.' Kurama growled back.

"Naruto. Can you stop talking to yourself? I'd like to go back to sleep now." Kakashi landed face first in his bed and began to snore again.

* * *

Hinata woke up to a strange ceiling. It was horribly cracked, and oddly… there appeared to be sauce stains splashed across it. This was definitely not the ceiling in her bedroom.

She lifted her head, groaning with a headache. She felt hung over... or what she imagined being hung over would feel like.

Where was she?

She lifted her head to find herself on a worn mattress with even shabbier sheets. The floor around the bed looked worse than the ceiling. This was definitely Naruto's place.

She sat up, alarmed and looked down at herself. She was no longer wearing her white tshirt and pants. Instead she had on one of Naruto's large orange shirts.

"Eeek!" Hinata squealed, her face turning bright red. What had happened last night? How did she end up in Naruto's bed? And if she had to endure the shame of waking up in Naruto's bed, why couldn't she at least enjoy the pleasure of remembering exactly how she got there?

Hinata calmed herself down and concentrated. She used the seal to zero in on Naruto's location as her grandfather taught her. He wasn't in the apartment… he wasn't even close.

The door opened and Sakura rushed in. "Are you ok Hinata?!"

"Sakura?" Hinata asked, confused. She looked around herself again. "Isn't this Naruto's place?"

"Yea. He brought you here last night after you were so exhausted from training. I told him it wasn't appropriate for him to stay here overnight and kicked him out." Sakura stated haughtily. "He went to Kakashi's place."

"Oh." Hinata said trying not to sound disappointed.

"But he stopped by this morning and brought breakfast." Sakura smiled. "You're supposed to meet them at the training field again this afternoon."

Hinata nodded. "I should probably go see my father and grandfather this morning then. They will be worried."

"I'll come with." Sakura said, quickly. She left the room and came back with stirafoam cup and a donut, handing it to Hinata. "I wanted to talk with you about something."

"Ok." Hinata looked at Sakura questioningly. The two girls had been relatively good friends for awhile now, but the relationship had never been one of confiding secrets or deep thoughts to each other, and there had been even more distance since Hinata and Naruto became a couple.

"It's just ever since we saw Sasuke a couple of weeks ago after so many years, I've been feeling more and more useless. Both you and Naruto are working so hard to get stronger and I just feel like I should be doing something to prepare for the next time we encounter Sasuke too." Sakura looked down at her hands. "I know Kuranei has been helping you with chakra manipulation through the seal. And I don't want to get in the way of that, but there was a point in time when Kakashi thought I might have an affinity for genjutsu once. I chose to train under Tsunade and she is taught me a great amount, but if I want to keep up with Sasuke and Naruto, I really need another skill..."

"I'll talk to Kuranei." Hinata suggested kindly. "Tell her that you are interested in joining our training sessions. I think she misses leading team eight, so I'm sure she'll be happy to have you as a student too."

Sakura nodded, her green eyes glistening. "Oh... and full disclosure... I'm sorry that I've been acting so funny lately. I was a little jealous of you and Naruto, at first -not because I'm interested in him, mind you. But I guess I just wish Sasuke was back with us... with me. He seemed so cold last time, like he did not even care that he had not seen me or Naruto in almost two years."


	5. The Akatsuki: True World Free of Lies

**Weekly Update!**

 **warning: a little Akatsuki action this week. Some cursing and mildly crude references to killing.**

 **Thanks for the follows, favorites, and reviews of last week's chapter; comments appreciated this week.**

 **I own nothing... accept a couple of shady OCs**

* * *

"A got damn forced retreat!" Hidan scowled as he sulked three steps behind Kakuzu.

The faithful follower of Jashin looked like a drowned rat, as he begrudgingly trudged through a down pour of rain. "Do you know how many sacrifices just slipped through my fingers for this shit?! How many heathens I was just about to show the might of the way of Jashin."

He stopped again, slamming the butt of his scythe down on the ground and pumping his fist into the wet air. When Kakuzu continued to ignore him and kept walking, Hidan sighed and ran his hand through his wet hair, which was no longer neatly slicked back and instead flopped in a clump of drenched grease down the sides of his face. "Maybe they'll actually stay put until we get back. Ya' think?"

"No. I don't think. Those kids were biting at the chop to get that corpse back to their village to try to save it… like a bunch of good little shinobi." Kakuzu did not break stride nor turn around.

He was well covered compared to his partner, so rain never bothered him. Nothing other than money –or the lack there of, ever bothered Kakuzu. Well… that and Hidan, who knew exactly how to get under his skin.

But this time, he did not disagree with his partner. Kakuzu was also anxious to get this part of the job over with. There was no money in sealing tailed beasts. "Do _you_ know how much that corpse was worth? 35 million ryo for the leaf bastard. You got careless in that fight. I warned you. Lose your head again and don't look for any help reattaching it. You better just be glad I can't kill you, myself."

Kakuzu stopped in front of a large hand shaped rock, carved with the intricate patterns of an old Taoist temple. Portions of the surface were covered with bright green moss. The rest was already slick with rain water. "Here's the spot. Let's just get this over with."

He wiped some of the water away and set his briefcase down on the boulder. Hoisting himself up, he sat cross legged next to it.

"So you're OK with this?! Getting yanked from that fight by our oh so venerated leader!" Hidan's voice was becoming as unhinged as he drenched appearance.

"I joined for the money." Kakuzu replied coolly, closing his eyes, so his partner might take a hint. "The Akatsuki bring in plenty of bounty. As long as that's true, I'll listen to Pain. When it's not, I'll leave."

Kakuzu shut out Hidan's deranged bellyaching and began to mediate. With no one else to complain to, Hidan finally shut up and followed suit.

Their essences were pulled to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Kakuzu stood on the left middle finger and Hidan on the left index finger. They were joined by the essences of the other seven Akatsuki. Nine silent ghosts floating above each finger of the wide mouthed statue. Pain, their leader stood at the right thumb. One finger remained permanently empty, a ring and a spot stolen by the snake sannin, Orochimaru.

"Just like with the one tail, it will take three days to seal the two tails." Pain informed them.

"WHAT?! AGAIN!" Hidan restarted his whiney protest. "WE are sitting in a down pour of rain. And YOU expect us to sit there for three days!"

"And for what?!" Hidan continued to argue without waiting for an answer. "I joined this stinkin' organization to the show the world the might of the way of Jashin. AND I was just about to slaughter some leaf morons…

"Shut the hell up, Hidan!" Kakuzu growled, losing his patience. He had been enduring this endless tirade for a lot longer than the others, and Hidan had just about lit the fuse.

Hidan ignored his partner and continued, even more heated. "I just LEFT a group of Leaf Heathens to breath another day… for THIS! And what the hell are we even doing anyway!? Three days of standing here, soaking wet, to watch the two tailed hag get drained… WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Pain let Hidan finish his usual temper tantrum and then he patiently began his answer. "The Leaf aren't heathens. Just because they don't believe the way you believe, does not make them, heathens. They venerate their ancestors and follow the Will of Fire. We, Akatsuki, respect our enemies… even if we don't agree with them –that's how we prevent unnecessary loses and mistakes."

"Listen carefully you, dunce." Kazuku hissed, really wishing he had left Hidan's head and mouth behind. "Maybe it will keep your head on your shoulders and off the ground, next time."

Pain continued. "We each have our own reasons for war –none of them are the same… none of them are better or worse. Many would say, the Leaf's reason for fighting is just as valid as your own reasons."

"WHAT!?" Hidan roared, narrowing his eyes at Pain. "Are you insulting me and my religion now?!"

"No. I respect your reasons for battle. You are just like me. You hold fast to your beliefs. And really, it does not matter what you use to justify going to war… religion, philosophy, resources, land, revenge, love… even just a whim. No matter how trivial –they are all worthy causes for a war."

"Ahhh! Whatever. War –War –War. WHAT WAR? I'm tired of your long winded lectures! You make no sense. And your nonsense is starting to get in the way of my real goals."

"Hidan, as long as you're a part of the Akatsuki, our goals will be your goals. But, after our true goal is achieved, all your wishes… all of your reasons for battle… will be granted. I promise." Pain replied, coolly.

"Oh really? You promise? How about, instead of making empty promises, you fill me in on this true goal!" Hidan was starting to snarl now. "You say I'm a part of this organization so you can use me to do all your dirty work. But you haven't told me a damn thing about what we're doing this for!"

Pain conceded. "No I haven't, and you're right… you've been with us long enough that I should. Right now, our main goal is making money and collecting the tailed beasts. But that is NOT our ultimate goal.

With the money we are amassing, we plan to create a mercenary shinobi army who can work for the smaller nations that have lost their shinobi villages in the recent years of peace. We will accept contracts of war from all… small nations and ninja villages alike. We will ask for very little profit and exclusively corner the entire war market. Then we will use the tailed beasts to create new wars so we have a monopoly. Soon the ninja villages of the five great nations will be pushed out. Without their streams of revenue, villages… like your leaf friends, will collapse. The five nations will become dependent on the Akatsuki too. Then we will have met our ultimate goal…"

"WELL?!" Hidan was leaning so far forward, he almost slipped off the tip of the finger.

"Would you shut up!" Kazuku snapped again.

Pain responded, "World Domination."

* * *

Hinata and Sakura both sat in front of Kurenai with their legs crossed in the middle of the dusty and gravel ladened training field. This was not the most comfortable place to be seated, as it was not made for sitting, but for punching, kicking, throwing, and moving very fast in the most uncomfortable ways possible.

A nice coffee shop couch or library bench would have been much better within the confines of a shaded structure. But the training field was the only place in the village that all three could find peace from consistent noise and interruption. So, here they sat on this terribly uncomfortable ground under the the baking sun and blazing heat.

It had been almost a month since this triad of kunoichi began to meet for daily training, early morning before Hinata had to show up for Naruto's training or late evening after Sakura got off of her shift in the hospital. This was the first time they had an entire day to dedicate to their own conditioning.

Kurenai rolled her neck and lifted her thick black hair off the nape, tying it up in a hair band. Wiping the large drops of sweat away, she touched her slightly rounded belly. "I want both of you to attempt to cut the flow of my chakra.

"Hinata you will have to do this visually –so activate your byakugan. Sakura, I believe you can do it by chakra awareness. Every shinobi has a bit of this, but you seem to have an unusual amount of it for a non sensory type –which is what makes you such a talented medic. Start with your eyes closed –it will make it easier to focus." Kurenai continued to rub at her belly as she spoke. "The most important skill in genjutsu is being able to cut and redirect the flow of chakra. It will trigger an illusion if you use it on your opponent in a precise way, and it will also release you from an illusion if you use it on yourself.

"Hinata, if you are able to cut my chakra flow here today, it will be much easier through the seal. The binding essentially gives the same access to Naruto's and Kurama's chakra as you have to your own chakra. But because both Naruto and Kurama have so much more chakra than you do, you are going to have to work four times as hard as you would if you were bound to another Hyuga. This is why your grandfather sent you to me. But as you become more skillful, you will be able to use the seal from long distances and manipulate their chakras without visual guidance."

Hinata and Sakura looked at each other and exchanged smiles for support. This gesture had become a habit as they began to train together. Kind of like a power tap. One look and a transference of self-confidence went from one girl to the other. Then Hinata activated her byakugan and Sakura closed her eyes.

All three of them sat in the middle of that hot training field for hours, as though mediating. Little did onlookers know, a bloody battle of the minds was being fought as both young students attempted to cut the flow of their sensei's chakra.

Kurenai allowed them free access at first, but as they got the hang of stopping the flow of her chakra. She began to resist and return the favor. Both Hinata and Sakura found themselves knocked out and rolling face forward onto the ground more than a couple of times.

"You have to be quicker." Kurenai egged on. "Cut the flow of your own chakra as soon as you see or sense me take over. Hinata don't rely on your chakra awareness –it is not strong enough without a seal. You must use the byakugan to see what you are doing."

Sakura's knack for chakra manipulation allowed her to pick up cutting chakra flow with ease. But she was having a much more difficult time sensing when Kurenai was starting to resist and manipulate her chakra, triggering an illusion. By the time Sakura figured it out, it was usually too late.

Hinata, however, easily picked up the ability to see the minute shift in Kurenai's chakra as she began to resist and attempt to manipulate Hinata's or Sakura's chakras. But she still was not efficient enough with cutting the flow to counter the genjutsu before it started.

Today, Hinata was also distracted by something else, which she was not sure she was supposed to be seeing.

As Kurenai rubbed at her belly, Hinata noticed another tiny but separate chakra network within Kurenai's womb. Since being sealed to Kurama and Naruto, Hinata had noticed her byakugan was a lot stronger than it had been before. Usually only the oldest of the Hyuga clan could see something as minute as a weeks old fetus inside of its mother. After the mother was in the later trimesters most byakugans could pick up the baby. But Kurenai was only maybe a couple of months along.

"Hey! Hinata!" Konohamaru came running up to their lesson, interrupting. "Sorry, Kurenai Sensei but Kakashi and Yamato Sensei need Hinata at the far training field… Naruto… he's out of control."

Konohamaru stopped, leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees, breathing hard.

"Go! Quickly! That is much more important!" Kurenai instructed Hinata. She frowned and grumbled under her breath. "I told them it was a bad idea."

Hinata stood up and yelped. "Show me, please, Konohamaru!"

Konohamaru stood up, nodded, and ran back where he came from. Hinata ran after him, after quickly waving good bye to Kurenai and Sakura.

She concentrated on the seals while she ran. She could feel both Naruto's and Kurama's presence in the distance. This made Hinata's heart flip. She thought about the fox demon's comments about erasing Naruto from his body.

Hinata always felt Kurama's chakra when it attempted to emerge. But she only felt Kurama's actual presence when she was seeing him deep inside Naruto. Hinata remembered what Kurenai said and tried to manipulate the chakras that she sensed through the seal, but she had little to no effect. It was so much easier when she could see directly.

She activated her byakugan. In the distance she could see the nine tailed fox's chakra was using the vulnerable chakra flowing in Naruto's clones to attempt to access his real body. Again she tried to manipulate the chakras. But she was still too far away and was having little effect.

Ahead trees were bending and breaking like weeds, as the ground shook and the nine tails ran amuck with Yamato's wood style chasing him. Hinata followed Konohamaru as he dodged the falling trunk of a large tree. Catching up to the younger ninja, Hinata pushed him back, stopping him. "Stay away. You'll only get hurt."

She ran out in the middle of the field and called, "Naruto! Kurama!"

All of the Narutos, including the ones, who were cloaked in the nine tails chakra stopped running rampant and looked at her. Together, they responded, "Hinata!?"

"Thank god!" Kakashi and Yamato said in unison. They both looked a little less put together than usual. Yamato's face was red and he was sweaty profusely. Kakashi had his flak jacket off, his right arm was bleeding, and his headband was lifted up revealing his sharingan.

The clones that were cloaked in Kurama's chakra returned to normal as she began to unwind the red chakra from around Naruto's white chakra. With her byakugan, Hinata could see Kurama's actual presence in this world faintly, like a spirit looming atop of the real Naruto. What he would become if the tailed beast was to ever take Naruto's body. Kurama narrowed his fiery eyes at her, but he complied and faded away as she approached.

She walked out onto the field still using the seal to untangle Kurama's chakra from Naruto's chakra. She took the real Naruto's hand and squeezed it. He smiled down at her, also looking relieved.

With the Akatsuki moving closer to Konoha and Sasuke still missing, all three ninja had been extremely impatient about Naruto finally picking up his newest technique, an ultimate custom made jutsu; the rasengan modified by the wind change in chakra.

But even with Hinata's natural suppression of Kurama through the binding seal, without Minato's seal, Naruto was still having to use a significant amount of his own chakra to keep the tailed beast's chakra at bay. So it was important that Hinata had her time to train and get stronger, so she could use the binding seal more effectively. Eventually, Naruto would be able to freely access most of his own chakra without her having to be right next to him every time he wanted to preform a complex jutsu. Eventually, he would be able to use the seal to call her to him only when he wanted to access portions of Kurama's chakra.

However, no one, particularly Naruto's impatience had time to wait for this, so he, Kakashi, and Yamato made the decision to go on with Naruto's training with only Yamato's wood style for back up... despite Hiro and Kurenai's warnings.

"Well that was a terrible idea." Kakashi said, running his uninjured hand through his wild hair. He was just as worried about the timeline as Naruto, but he should not have allowed it to cloud his judgement.

"I guess I should stay then." Hinata suggested, kindly. She knew Kurenai would be pissed that her training was cut short, and her training was important if her and Naruto were ever going to be more than ten feet apart from each other. Not that she minded having to be close to him.

"Much better idea." Kakashi agreed as he tipped his hand at Hinata. He waved a finger at Naruto instructing him to get back to work.

* * *

A shadowed figure sat hidden in the trees nearby the training fields.

The dark hooded cloak kept the small and thin shinobi's sallow face from fully being seen as he crouched down in the thick brush. His petite stature indicated that he was young. But his ability to pass unnoticed even by highly skilled ninja, like Kakashi and Yamato, meant he had a vast amount of experience and skill... at least at blending in.

Almost daily, he watched the young blond ninja and his clones attempt the same ninjutsu over and over again, sometimes only feet from the pink haired kunoichi and the somber looking pale kid in black, who also stood watching at the edge of the woods. Anyone else would have found this mind numbingly boring, but not the watcher.

This was his job. This was what he was created to do. He watched and collected information for his master. The master who saved him from such a pathetic existence. He would do anything for his master. So he sat and watched for hours, day after day. Collecting intel, which most would not have even bothered to notice, like priceless gems.

And the intensity of his watching only increased as the byakugan user joined the blond ninja, once again.

* * *

Finally done for the day, Naruto sat down next to Hinata on the training field as the sunset beyond the horizon of trees, coloring the sky with deep crimson, orange, and gold.

"I'm so close!" Naruto had finally determined the number of clones that he needed to create his wind release rasengan, but he still had not quite gotten it to remain stable enough to use in an attack.

It had been less than a month and Hinata was amazed that he was already to this point. Particularly when she felt she was failing at something as simple as just cutting chakra flow. She was worried. How was she ever going to find time to complete her own training around Naruto's intense training schedule? But she said none of this to him and only smiled, "You'll get it. I know it."

Naruto smiled back and pulled her closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as they watched the sun set together. He said softly, "Thank you for always believing in me, ya know."

A warm feeling stirred in Hinata's chest. "It's easy."

Wrapping his arms tighter around her, he kissed the top of her head. He lifted Hinata's face towards his face and kissed her lips.

"HEY! You two, get a room!"

Breaking the kiss, they both spotted Kiba, Akamaru, Sai, Shino, and Sakura as the group of young ninja ran towards them.

"Training is done for today! We're going to get some food, and you two are coming with us!"

Sai and Shino grabbed Naruto and pushed him along with them back towards the center of the village. Sakura and Kiba helped Hinata up, following behind the others.

"Was Kurenai Sensei really upset about our session ending so abruptly?" Hinata asked Sakura timidly.

Sakura scoffed. "I think I actually saw fire coming out of her ears."

"Oh no!" Hinata gasped guiltily.

"What's wrong? Did I miss something?" Sakura's face contorted into a look of intense curiosity.

"It's just she shouldn't be stressed out right now." Hinata whispered.

"Why not? What's wrong with Kurenai Sensei?" Kiba demanded suspiciously, desperate to be let in on the secret. Akamaru slipped his head under Hinata's hand and whined questioningly.

"I'm not sure she wants anyone to know yet... She's only a couple of months along after all."

"A couple months of what?" Kiba frowned attempting to decipher the coded conversation passing between the girls.

"Really?" Sakura rolled her eyes. She whispered to Kiba. "Kuranei Sensei and Asuma Sensei are expecting."

"Excepting what?.."

Sakura only narrowed her eyes at him, and hissed, "Unbelievable."

But Hinata whispered, "A baby."

"YOU MEAN SHE'S PREG!.." Hinata slapped her hand over Kiba's mouth. Akamaru yipped.

"SSSSHH!" Sakura and Hinata said at the same time.

"How do you know, Hinata?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I could see the little one today... with my byakugan." Hinata replied still whispering. "My dojutsu has gotten a lot stronger since Naruto, Kurama, and I were sealed."

"That's pretty amazing..." Sakura said, dazedly.

"I wonder if Asuma Sensei has been as secretive as Kurenai." Hinata finally let go of Kiba's mouth, satisfied he would not continue his yelping.

Kiba shrugged. "He and team ten have been gone on a mission for the last couple of days. But who could keep that secret?! If Ino knew... she would surely blab about a ba..."

Akamaru whined again, as Sakura slapped her hand over Kiba's mouth. "Kiba! Mouth shut. Remember?!"

"If you wanted to keep Kurenai's secret, you shouldn't have told Kiba." Sakura said to Hinata.

"What are you guys doing?" Shino asked the stragglers suspiciously, as he held the restaurant door open for them. Smiling innocently, Sakura still had her hand clamped over Kiba's mouth. She removed it quickly and giggled.

"Oh nothing, Shino." Hinata replied cheerfully. She attempted to hid her burning cheeks and guilty eyes, while scuttling past her teammate into the restaurant. Once inside, she slid her arm through Naruto's arm and pulled him away.

Sakura pinched Kiba hard, as he opened his mouth to say something to Shino.

"YOUCH!" Kiba winced, and then both he and Akamaru walked through the door, sulking with their heads down.

Shino stared intensely at his guilt ridden friends from behind his dark glasses and from underneath his overside hooded trench coat, which caused him to look like an enormous trash bag. He knew they were hiding something. But he only shrugged and followed them inside. He was getting used to being left out of the big secrets.

The seven young shinobi found a table in the back and began to order, starting an evening full of light conversation, laughter, food, and flowing drink. Inside of the restaurant, glasses and plates tinkled around them. The relaxed warmth of a fun evening after a long day of work surround the table of young shinobi like a soft and comfortable blanket.

But outside, a strong and ice cold wind blew harsh and menacingly through the village like a siren of death. Those, who found themselves out in the unrelenting weather that night, shivered violently under an unsettlingly and ominous chill.

And within the cover of darkness, team ten made their way somberly through the front gates of the village, carrying their sensei's lifeless body.


	6. Windstyle Rasengan & Other Modifications

Five days later, just outside of the Nara Clan forest...

Hinata watched from a dead tree branch above, as Naruto slammed the wind style rasengan into Kakuzu below, pounding the Akatsuki deep into the ground and breaking the man's body into thousands of pieces.

With the enormous amount of chakra that Naruto used to create the modified rasengan, the jutsu was so powerful that Naruto had to use even more chakra to keep it from blasting apart as soon as it was created, all while keeping three shadow clones active at one time. This made Naruto as vulnerable to Kurama as he would ever be. So Kakashi directed Hinata to stay above the fight where she could visualize all of the Narutos at one time.

After team ten returned to Konoha from their secret mission to track down the two Akatsuki, who had been hunting and killing jinchuuriki and bounty within the surrounding area, the entire village fell into a deep and unrelenting despair.

Asuma Sarutobi was dead and the Akatsuki were responsible. The shock hit Hinata even harder, after knowing the happiness in Kurenai's life just the day before.

Three days later and after Asuma's memorial, team ten left the village again to go after the two Akatsuki. Kakashi led them this time, leaving Naruto's training to Yamato. He asked that his team seven be sent as back up as soon as possible. But everyone was on pins and needles about that decision, especially the hokage.

In a fluster, Sakura appeared at the training field the next day and relayed that Lady Tsunade had ordered Naruto's jutsu finished and for team seven to leave as back up within twenty-four hours or she was sending another squad.

Yamato began a protest, but Naruto only responded. "Twenty-four hours, huh? I guess we'll be up all night working then."

"You ok?" Naruto looked at Hinata. She nodded back in agreement, and they set to work.

Naruto made the deadline, finishing a fully formed wind style rasengan, which he promptly named rasenshuriken based on its shape. But, the jutsu still had not been tested in battle when they made it just in time to the stand off between Kakuzu and Kakashi, Choji, and Ino.

So it was not all that surprising when the ninjutsu failed to do… anything, on the first attempt.

"What the hell was that?!" Kakuzu growled. "This is the infamous nine tailed fox jinchuuriki? This is what all the fuss was about?!"

The enemy shinobi scoffed. "False advertising."

After the jutsu failed with Hinata completely suppressing all of Kurama's chakra, Kakashi quickly recalculated. "You're going to have to let Naruto access just enough of the nine tail's chakra to keep the jutsu stable. But to prevent the tailed beast from going overboard, you'll have to watch all of the Narutos at all times! Even the ones hidden for the attack. You'll need to be high up."

Hinata nodded and looked up at the dead tree trunks that surrounded them. They were tall enough to give her a good vantage point.

But she had barely gotten the hang of suppressing Kurama's chakra all together. She was not sure how Kakashi figured she was going to be able to manipulate the tailed beast's chakra finely enough to allow Naruto access. She knew she needed more time to train with Kurenai. Still she did not protest, and instead, quietly climbed up into the tree branches above while Kakuzu was distracted with trash talking Naruto's failed attack and brandishing his full power for all to see below.

She had to find a way to make this work.

Hinata activated her byakugan peering deep inside of Naruto as he stood angry and frustrated on the ground. And she felt herself pulled to another plane.

Drip drop! Drip drop!

"So you want me to help the kid, huh?" Kurama's gruff voice reverberated through the chamber. "After all the time and energy that you've spent pushing me down into this little space within him, you want me to do a favor for you and extend my power to him?"

Hinata moved forward finding Kurama curled up inside his open cage again. She sat down next to him and stroked his fur. "Yes, please, Kurama. If Naruto loses this fight, then you will lose this fight too. Everyone sees you through him –especially the Akatsuki. They want to defeat you and take you from Naruto… to use you for terrible purposes. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you –or to Naruto."

Actually, Hinata had no inkling of the Akatsuki's true purposes, but she knew their purposes could not be good. She also knew Kurama's ego was a lot larger than his distaste for Naruto. He was not going to let Naruto lose this fight and blemish his reputation.

"Naruto can win this fight. He can show them all the strength of the nine tailed fox's jinchuuriki. He just needs a little of your chakra to keep the jutsu stable."

Kurama smiled his wily smile. "You are very good at this, my young byakugan princess. And I can feel no lies in your words. You do sincerely want to save us both."

Kurama rested his head on an upright paw, as though bored to death with the prospect. "Whelp. I guess I can do a little something to help the brat... this time. But don't make this a habit, Princess."

As Hinata's consciousness returned to the real world, Naruto moved back towards Kakuzu. He and his clones again were creating the wind style rasengan. In response, Kakuzu used his gray threads to stretch his body parts out for a long range attack.

This time a small amount of red chakra was intertwining itself along Naruto's white chakra network, but it was not trying to over take it or devour it as usual. It was flowing gently with the white chakra, following it cooperatively. It reached Naruto's chakra points, slipping out of his hands into the rasengan, appearing as a small amount of yellow chakra which mixed with and stabilized the ball of chakra before flaring out into its wind nature. Hinata could see Kurama faintly looming around Naruto. Naruto's eyes shifted to the slit pupils of a fox.

"Thank you, Kurama." Hinata whispered. The nine tailed fox looked back at her lazily and then faded away.

Again Naruto and his clones ran forward with the group of three clones in the front. But this time, the Akatsuki dodged the clones easily to attack the Naruto carrying the rasenshuriken.

Kazuku sneered, "I won't be distracted that easily again! Try another trick, jinchuuriki!"

The Akatsuki slammed his thick gray threads into the Naruto with the rasengan. But at the last minute, he missed the substitution, as the real Naruto switched places with one of the clones in the front. Hinata could see this with her byakugan from above, but the trick was completely camouflaged on the ground. She was amazed that Naruto was able to so effortlessly coordinate that attack blindly from the ground.

As Kakuzu celebrated his defeat of the clone, it disappeared and the real Naruto slammed the rasenshuriken from above into the surprised Akatsuki on the ground, pounding him deep into an enormous crater.

A shattering sound rang out causing everyone in the area to cover their ears and wince in pain. The aftershock of the blow's impact tore into Naruto, sending him flying backwards into a crumpled heap twenty feet away.

"Naruto!" Hinata panicked, climbing down from the tree.

She and Ino ran to his side to give as much medical care as they could, since Sakura was not back yet after she ran off with Sai to back up Shikamaru in his battle against the other Akatsuki.

Naruto opened his eyes slightly, and he coughed up a bit of blood, before saying, "Don't worry. I'm fine, ya know."

* * *

A petite and very pale young woman, with long black hair that was weaved into one long thick braid, kneeled in front of Tsunade's desk. A red and white animal mask covered her face to keep her identity well hidden.

Not that this particular ANBU needed a mask to keep her identity hidden as her specialty was the ability to change faces and identities at will. She also had not been back to the village in several years, so even her true face was unrecognizable by this point.

"Your name will be Masuku… I think that it fitting." Tsunade placed her chin on her hands and inspected the young woman in front of her. "Take off your mask and give it here. You will no longer serve in the black ops. I'm pulling you out for another –more important job."

"Yes milady." Masuku removed her mask and stood up, handing it to Tsunade.

"And your sword too." Tsunade kept her hand extended.

Masuku removed her tanto from her back and handed that to Tsunade as well. "What will be my new assignment?"

"Hinata Hyuga and Sakura Haruno." Tsunade divulged the two names. "These two young chunin have been training under Kurenai Yuhi. But Kurenai needs time off… she is pregnant and she just lost her husband. Anyone would need time off after that. But... this training cannot wait for her to return. Your chakra control makes you one of the best in this village. So you have been drafted as their new sensei."

Masuku nodded her understanding, quietly. "May I ask another question?"

"Go ahead." Tsunade waved her hand at the woman, indicating permission.

"Why are these two kunoichi so important that you would pull me away from my current mission?"

"Hinata has been sealed to the nine tailed fox's jinchuuriki. Naruto needs her to keep the tailed beast's chakra suppressed. And Hinata needs to quickly learn to manipulate large amounts of chakra through the seal, so he can continue to train to become stronger. Sakura is Naruto's team mate and a major factor in finding and capturing Sasuke Uchiha." Tsunade raised an eye brow. "You know more than anyone about the Uchiha brothers. I shouldn't have to say any more than that.

Besides, we have enough intel on Itachi Uchiha and his partner. It seems doubtful that their leader will send him back this direction any time soon. We have other ANBU who can cover that part of the Akatsuki from now on. No one will need to get as close as you have been."

Masuku nodded understanding. "Yes, milady."

The door opened and Kakashi walked into the office. "Lady Tsunade, you summoned me?"

"Aww! Kakashi. We've been waiting for you." The hokage replied.

Kakashi looked curiously at the stranger standing in front of the hokage's desk. She was dressed like any other ANBU shinobi but he had never seen the small woman's face before. And Kakashi never forgot a face.

Tsunade waited for recognition. When none came, she smiled satisfactorily and said, "This is Masuku… but you probably remember her as Suki Harami."

Now recognition crossed Kakashi's face. Suki had been a kunoichi in a class that was a couple of years above the latest team seven. He had just been released from the black ops when she graduated from the academy, but she was already pinpointed as a prospect for the ANBU before she even became a genin. Mainly because of her high level chakra control. And the fact that she had been able to change her face, hair, and skin coloring until she was completely unrecognizable to him meant that as usual the powers-that-be were correct about her potential talent.

"Masuku will be training Hinata and Sakura in Kurenai's place." Tsunade informed Kakashi. "I think it would be a good idea for you to introduce them. I believe Hinata is at the hospital with Naruto… and I'm sure Sakura is some where around there too."

"Masuku. Please wait for Kakashi outside in the hallway. I need to speak to him alone." Tsunade instructed.

The ANBU turned and bowed to Tsunade before leaving the office, shutting the door behind her.

"You still need to have that conversation with Naruto." Tsunade narrowed her eyes at Kakashi. "If you don't get a promise out of him to never use that new jutsu again, I will be obligated to order him to never use it. You've seen that Akatsuki shinobi's corpse and Naruto's arm. It's too dangerous."

"I know." Kakashi replied solemnly. "I'm on my way to talk to him."

"AND..." Tsunade pointed at the door. "I called Masuku back because she is the best at what she does. There is no better teacher for Hinata and Sakura. BUT she has been deep cover for a long time... and she came at Danzo's recommendation -which in and of itself is suspicious. I don't fully trust her. Keep an eye on her."

"Should I be discreet? Or should I make her aware of our suspicions?" Kakashi asked.

"Let her know that you are wary of her, but don't tell her it's coming from me."

"Oh and one more thing..." Tsunade lifted her index finger up in the air, deep in thought. "Don't let her touch any of your tenketsu for more than a couple of seconds."

Kakashi nodded understanding and then followed Masuku into the hallway. The corridor was well lit with a wall lamp set every couple of feet, still Masuku managed to find the one shadow to obscure herself within.

"So you've been gone awhile." Kakashi placed his hands in his pockets, leading the young woman down the hallway. "It's been years actually –hasn't it?"

Masuku did not reply, nor did Kakashi wait for an answer.

"Though... I believe I have a pretty good idea where you have been." Kakashi stopped walking and looked at the young woman with his one visible eye. "The Akatsuki have been top priority for awhile now. And the hokage would only send a high level shinobi, who is resistant to the use of genjutsu, to make contact with Itachi Uchiha."

Masuku stopped next to Kakashi and looked at him, but she did not reply nor did her face change from its constant deadpanned expression.

"I know you cannot confirm or deny this. Nor do I need you to confirm or deny this." Kakashi continued. "Just know, I'm watching you closely. More than one talented ANBU has been turned as a double agent."

"Now let's go meet your new students!" Abruptly, Kakashi smiled warmly under his mask, causing his one visible eye to curve up and twinkle, before he turned to continue down the hall with his hands in his pockets.

Unfazed, Masuku watched him walk a few steps and then began to follow again, without a word.

* * *

Naruto frowned and looked down at the cast over his right arm. "What good is a fancy new jutsu if it uses up all my chakra and puts me in the hospital after only using it twice?!"

Hinata sighed and put her hand on Naruto's cast gently. She knew it took more than just all of Naruto's chakra to make that jutsu work, and it was highly unlikely Kurama would be helping them again anytime soon. As though the single act of kindness towards his jinchuuriki had taken everything out of him, the fox demon had been quietly sulking as of late.

But even with Kurama's chakra to stabilize it, the rasenshuriken managed to not only tear Kakuzu to pieces, but also caused internal injuries to Naruto and nearly severed the chakra network in his right arm almost damaging it, irreversibly.

"All that training so I'm not dependent on the nine tail's chakra and nothing to show for it. How am I ever going to catch up to Sasuke?" Naruto continued his dive into depression. "Everyone makes it sound like Sasuke has the powers of a demigod now! There is no way I'll ever bring him back at the rate I'm going..."

"Don't worry please, Naruto!" Hinata stood up from her chair by his bedside and threw herself around him in the bed. No matter how irrational, she could not help but feel that somehow this was all of her fault. She had not trained hard enough. She had not been able to support her partner like she should and now he was in the hospital and feeling discouraged.

"Wha... huh?" Surprised, Naruto stopped talking as Hinata wrapped herself around him.

"I hate to see you worry so much!" Hinata cried, squeezing the tears back in her eyes. She lay her head on Naruto's chest, listening for the steady thump of his heart. "It's not all on you. You've already put yourself in so much danger. Sakura and I are working hard too. Together -all of us will do it. We will get Sasuke back."

Now distracted by concern for his upset girlfriend, Naruto forgot his own worries and wrapped his arms around Hinata's shoulders. He whispered. "I know."

"I will check on Kurenai soon -with everything that has happened, I didn't want to bother her. But maybe..." Hinata started.

"Don't worry about bothering Kurenai." A deep voice interrupted from the door. "You have a new sensei now."

Hinata stood up and looked over her shoulder. Kakashi stood in the doorway next to a strange young woman, who may have even been smaller than Hinata. She had on a leaf ninja headband, but neither Naruto nor Hinata had seen her before in the village. "This is Masuku. She is going to be your sensei from now on."

"Masuku, this is Hinata Hyuga. One of your students."

Masuku crossed the hospital room to Hinata and took hold of her left hand, like she was about to shake it. But instead she just held it awkwardly and said, "A Hyuga... no curse seal. Main family. Ummm -impressive... you were once the heir. Strong willed but hindered by a lack of confidence. Interesting."

"Your talent with chakra control is unimpressive... but your fierce determination -despite your often pampered life, will make do with what little skill you have. We have work to do. I'll be waiting for you at the training fields in an hour." Masuku let go of Hinata's hand.

Confused how the woman knew so much by holding her hand, Hinata nodded quickly, shrinking back against Naruto's bed under Masuku's intense black eyes.

Masuku's expressionless face did not change, and like a robot, she looked over at Kakashi and asked, "Where's the other one?"

Kakashi looked at Naruto. "Wait for me outside and I'll take you to Sakura. Hinata, do you mind giving me a moment with Naruto?"

"Ok." Still worried, Hinata looked down at Naruto and kissed his forehead. "See ya later?"

"See ya." Naruto replied glumly.

After the two kunoichi left, Kakashi turned back to Naruto.

"I already know." Naruto growled up at him.

"You already know what?" Kakashi replied, simply.

"About the jutsu -that it's a failure." Naruto poked at his cast with his good hand. "Are you here to tell me not to use it anymore?"

"I'm supposed to be... but I've decided that I'm not going to. I trust your judgement. After what you did in that fight against the Akatsuki, you deserve at least that much respect." Kakashi stuck his hands in his pockets. He would just have to convince Tsunade to back off a bit. He had a lot more confidence in Naruto's training after bumping into a couple of ninja on his way to the hospital.

"Really?" Naruto lifted his eyes to look at Kakashi and confirm that his sensei was actually being serious. "Well what do you want then?"

Kakashi called, "Jiraiya?! Hiashi?! You can come in."

"Huh?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kakashi.

The toad sage and the leader of the Hyuga clan entered Naruto's hospital room.

"Pervy Sage! You're back!" Naruto perked up even more. "And Master Hiashi! Wha -what is going on?"

"I came back to Konoha to check on my favorite protege and I heard about what happened with your new jutsu..." Jiraiya patted Naruto on the head, sympathetically. "Sorry kid -them's the breaks in training for war, but we've got a lot more work to do. So heal quickly, so we can get started. It's the perfect time to start the next two steps in your training."

"Really?" Naruto asked curiously then he narrowed his eyes. "What next two steps?"

"Well it's time we complete the combination jutsu -to sync your wind style ninjutsu with the water style of a toad."

"Ok?" Naruto's voice took a dip back into a depressed tone. He had started working on that jutsu during his travels with Jiraiya, but it had not gone well so far. "Can I use a different toad this time? Gamriki and I are unsyncable. And I think there is something truly wrong with that painted amphibian."

"We'll see." Jiraiya crossed his arms over this chest. "Gamriki has the best water style."

"Ugh! REALLY? There has to be another toad..." Naruto complained.

"I said we'll see!" Jiraiya shot back.

Naruto scowled and then remembered there were others in the room. He looked over at Hinata's father. "And you Master Hiashi?"

"I'm here to teach you more about your seal." Haishi's white eyes pierced Naruto's blue eyes, but as usual, his face and voice did not give away much. The sterness that radiated off of Hiashi caused Naruto to unconsciously straighten his back and adjust his hospital gown. "Do you mind giving us some time alone, Kakashi? Jiraiya?"

"Certainly." Jiraiya walked towards the door with the copy ninja and called back over his shoulder at Naruto, "I'm taking you out of here this afternoon. You're coming with me on a short trip for research. The hot springs will help heal you quickly before your training restarts."

"Sure... another research trip. What a waste of time." Naruto grumbled under his breath, skeptically.

Clearing his throat, Hiashi sat down in the chair that Hinata left by Naruto's bed.

"Aww, sorry." Naruto sat up even straighter in his hospital bed. He always felt less than adequate in Hiashi Hyuga's presence. Mostly because Hiashi was the archetypal prospective father-in-law who barely tolerated him, but also because the man was the most stiff and formal shinobi that Naruto ever met.

"Have you noticed any differences since you were sealed to Hinata?"

'Yes. Have you noticed any differences, Naruto?'

Kurama had been silent since the fight with Kakuzu. Which was not surprising since Hinata was by Naruto's bedside most of the time, but even when she had to leave, the tailed beast had not bothered his jinchuuriki's recovery... maybe he felt Naruto deserved a break. Apparently, the break was over.

"Well... I can hear Kurama speaking to me for one. He's a bit of an incessant chatterbox, ya know." Naruto replied, irritatedly, in part to Hiashi's question and in part to Kurama's taunting.

"What else?" Hiashi pressed on.

Naruto thought for a second. "Well when I fought that Akatsuki guy the other day, it was strange. It was almost like I could see him and myself from above -like not for real, but in the back of my mind."

"Umm hmm." Hiashi said. He assessed Naruto quietly. "What do you know about the Hyuga's cursed seal? About how we use the binding seal?"

"Not much." Naruto admitted. "You guys are kind of secretive. Hinata doesn't even talk about your clan much."

"Well it's pretty well known that the curse seal and the binding seal are used to keep the byakugan out of outsider's hands." Hiashi replied. "Less well known is that they can also be used to access every member of the clans' byakugan at any point in a battle, in order to use the information strategically. With the curse seals, the byakugans of all of the members of the branch families are bound to the clan leader, so I can access them at will."

"Wow. Really?"

"The binding seal works the same way between married or promised members in the clan. They both can tap into the seal at anytime to access the sight of their partner. " Hiashi continued. "Just as the Uchiha clan traditionally ran the village's internal policing. The Uzumaki and Senju clans traditionally have taken leadership roles. And the Hyuga clan's role has traditionally been caretakers of the village history and to act in defense of the village in an attack."

"For this, one partner of the seal, usually a kunoichi, is trained in kyudo and acts as an archer from atop the village wall. They call themselves the Long Eye. The other partner -usually male is trained in close combat gentle fist technique on the ground."

"But Hinata is trained in jyuken..."

"Both Hinata and Hanabi are trained in jyuken and kyudo since they were born to the main family. They are also being trained in fuinjutsu to tap into the curse seals." Hiashi held his hand up to Naruto to show him the mark. "They both have this on their left palm. Hanabi will be clan leader one day and Hinata is sealed to the jinchuuriki."

"I tell you this because your seal to Hinata is more than just to suppress the nine tailed fox. You can also tap into her byakugan. That is probably what you did accidentally during that fight. I can teach you to control it, and I can teach you to tap into any byakugan in the clan through her and the curse seal. I can also teach you other ways to use the seal." Hiashi stated. "For instance, you can use the seal to call Hinata to you -almost like you are summoning her.

'That is if you don't manage to screw all that up too... like you did that new jutsu of yours.' Kurama growled.

"Eventually you will be able to access some of Kurama's chakra through Hinata too. Maybe he will even trust you enough as his jinchuuriki to give you some of his chakra himself... though I'm not sure any jinchuuriki has ever made it that far with the nine tailed fox... not even Mito."

'Hiashi is a smart man -but don't hold your breath... that last part will never happen, kid.'

"When do we get started?" Naruto asked eagerly, still ignoring Kurama.

"Spend a day at the springs with Jiraiya and I'll see you after that."


	7. Froggies and Cuckoos

**Hello! Another Weekly update.. this one is a bit lighter as it includes some of the sillier portions of the canon.**

 **I own nothing... particularly not the froggy song...**

* * *

An hour later, Hinata found herself standing in the middle of the hot training field again. It was not quite as hot as the last time she was there with Sakura and Kurenai, since the sun had already past over for the day and was now hiding behind a clump of fluffy white clouds. Being that it was already late afternoon, the training area was relatively empty of occupants. But she had walked through all three of the main areas, where rookie shinobi were usually trained, and her new sensei was nowhere in sight.

"This can't be a repeat of Kakashi Hatake." Sakura complained when she showed up soon after. "I've already had a sensei who was constantly late…"

"Wait." Hinata put her hand on Saskura's arm abruptly. "That woman over there. Have you seen her before?"

Sakura looked towards where Hinata indicated. A petite kunoichi with shoulder length sand colored hair and burnt sun-kissed skin was practicing taijutsu on a practice post just a few feet away from them.

"I've never seen that woman in my life." Sakura replied, staring as hard as Hinata. It was not unusual to run into a stranger in the village. Konoha was relatively large for a shinobi village, boasting a population close to one hundred thousand souls. But as chunin, they knew every jonin by face if not by name, unless the ninja happened to be gone on an extended mission or worked in black ops. "So she's a stranger –just like Masuku Sensei. Coincidence?"

"Same size… same clothes." Hinata replied.

The woman's face was foreign, but there was still something familiar about her. She was unusually petite and thin but athletically built, just like Masuku. And she had on the exact same ninja gear as Masuku, which was relatively standard for a male jonin, but unusual for a woman.

"Umm… excuse me? Sensei?" Sakura approached the prospective Masuku, pulling Hinata by the hand behind her.

The sandy haired woman stopped her kata and smiled beamingly at them. In a rich and booming voice she said, "YAAYYY! You figured it out! I knew I had two smart ones on my hands."

Now the two young ninja were really taken aback. Not only had Masuku's appearance completely changed, but apparently, so had her personality.

Her eyes were now a dark royal blue –or maybe a shade of deep violet, instead of black. Her complexion was tanned and rosy compared to the pale white complexion from an hour ago. Her features, no longer sharp and angled, were now smooth round curves. She had a regal sort of beauty before, but now she was approachably pretty. She was no longer cold, distant, and mechanical. She was now warm, welcoming, and a bit overwhelming.

"How in the world?" Sakura asked under her breath.

"How in the world in deed!" Masuku's dripping honey sweet voice matched her over exaggerated facial expressions, as she grabbed both of their hands and cheerfully drew them into her wiry body, giving them a tight bear hug. Both Sakura and Hinata gasped in pain. Their new sensei was a lot stronger than she looked.

After her students were thoroughly violated with affection, Masuku made a dramatically serious face and said, "Kurenai informed me, you were working hard on chakra flow –cutting and redirecting. What fun! Well, now we will turn our lesson to chakra points."

Giggling, she pulled them to the center of the field and gestured for the girls to take a seat. Too scared not to obey, Sakura sat down and whispered to Hinata. "What is wrong with her? Is she drunk?"

Hinata looked wide eyed at Sakura and shrugged.

Plopping herself down on the ground in front of her students, Masuku chimed, "And you have already had the first two lessons my young students!"

"The first principal of good chakra manipulation is subtlety. The less you change in a genjutsu, the harder it is for your opponent to pick up. Sharpen your observational skills and learn your opponent's inevitable blind spots." She popped up on to her knees and hissed in their faces. "Right away, you should have recognized that I was a stranger to your village! A stranger wearing the exact same clothes as the stranger who you just met a few hours before."

She waggled her finger in their face. "But you were too distracted looking for a somber faced woman with black hair and pale skin to see the obvious clues, you two."

"The second principal of good chakra manipulation… CHAKRA POINTS ARE YOUR BEST FRIENDS!" Masuku shot a fist up in the air to emphasis her point.

Then she made a fake pouted face. "Sakura… tell us about chakra points, please ma'am."

"Well… uuuhhh –tenketsu are nodes in the body with microscopic openings which allow the release of chakra... in order to create ninjutsu."

"YES! You are sooooo smart my Sakura." Masuku's body wriggled with happiness. "Hinata, dear, you have been trained to apply pressure with jyuken to block tenketsu in battle. Now you will learn other ways to manipulate them."

"Are we excited yet girls?!"

"Yea sure." Sakura replied dispassionately. Hinata just silently nodded.

Not deterred at all by her students' lack of enthusiasm, Masuku continued, "Less well discussed is the concentrated chakra that pools around chakra points. The most chakra that you will find in any area of the body at one time."

"By touching these areas of concentrated chakra, you can learn many vague but VERY important characteristics of a person's personality, you can learn physical alterations connected to chakra that you might not be able to see visually –like marks and seals. And on yourself, you can use these areas to manipulate your own hair color and texture, facial features, voice tone, and skin and eye color –even finger prints. Unfortunately, it causes a permanent change until you decide to change again… but it expends much less chakra than the transformation technique."

Masuku said this all very quickly without taking a breath, and then she huffed and puffed at the end, exhausted.

"Really?" Sakura asked, her attention finally captured. She knew Tsunade used the transformation technique to make herself look younger and more shapely. The hokage emitted chakra constantly in order to do so. It was supposed to be a disguise to evade her bookies and those to whom she owed gambling debts, but Sakura believed a lot of it was also vanity.

"Personality is greatly influenced by chakra. Have you ever noticed that certain clans tend to have certain personalities? –the Hyugas and Uchihas for example. No insult intended Hinata…"

"That's alright." Hinata responded softly.

"Both are very stoic, rigid, and formal. The Uchihas were ambitious… the Hyugas deeply loyal and secretive." Masuku made her voice sound dramatically deep and gruff, for no apparent reason, when she got to the portion about the secretive Hyuga clan. "Part of it is culture of course, but chakra is also a huge influence. And the more powerful they are, the more they tend to be this way."

Some of their tendency to be so rigid and formal is from their tenketsu. Both clans keep their chakra points further open than the average shinobi… as a response to their kekkei genkai. Particularly the Hyuga clan... who use their chakra release to some of its highest potential and are able to release chakra from tenketsu that most aren't even aware that they have. The more closed and flexible your chakra points, the more flexible and loose your personality.

Of course this is not a hard and fast rule because people are people, and they never actually follow the handbook. AND there are other factors like the characteristics of your chakra flow, your chakra's composition and quality, and your chakra's quantity... which also influence personality. But you are nowhere near the level of reading such detail from a tenketsu –that takes years of training... and I do this everyday."

Masuku looked up into a clump of nearby trees on the outskirts of the training field and mumbled, "Speaking of sticks in the mud." Kakashi was lounging in a tree, reading one of his books. He appeared to be relaxing and paying no attention to them, but obviously, he was there to watch since there was no other reason for a ninja to choose the training fields as a spot to spend a leisurely afternoon.

Masuku narrowed her eyes at him and leaned in to whisper to her students. Both Hinata and Sakura leaned forward too, certain she was about to tell them something about Kakashi's presence.

"But if you're on a secret mission and need a certain personality or look for infiltrative purposes. You can manipulate your own chakra points to make those characteristics come out!"

Masuku began to giggle loudly for some unknown reason, and Sakura threw Hinata another worried look. This woman's chakra points must have been all the way closed.

"Chakra points are relatively easy to pick up and manipulate compared to flowing chakra since the concentration of chakra is higher and it is stagnant. You don't have to have as much chakra awareness. This is important for you, Hinata, since a tailed beast is basically just one enormous chakra point. Solid, living, concentrated chakra, ready to RIP you apart!"

Masuku jumped at Hinata with a fierce and angry look plastered across her face.

"Eeek!" Hinata jumped back slightly, startled.

Without missing a beat, Masuku stood up and twirled, as though dancing to some tune only heard in her head.

"Girls! We must strengthen our tenketsu muscles, grrrrrh!" Masuku struck a pose flexing her bicep muscles and growling with a snarl. "So today, the exercise is to find a chakra point in your body –other than in your hands… because that is way too easy… and close it. I'll be checking your work –so keep it closed tight if you want credit."

Masuku waggled finger at the girls again. She dust herself off and moved away slightly, observing her students as they attempted the assignment.

"Don't you think you've taken this a bit too far?" Kakashi's voice came from directly behind her.

She did not turn around, stating innocently, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Your students have met two different people in a matter of a couple of hours." Kakashi moved up next to her, closing his book and sticking it into his back pocket. "You might want to only introduce one of your many personalities at a time."

"You seem to have several problems with me, Kakashi Sensei."

"No problems." Kakashi raised his hands, palms up in surrender. "Just questioning your methods. I remember transitioning from black ops to teaching. It wasn't easy. Thought I might be helpful."

"Oh, I remember very vividly, too." Masuku smiled her ninety watt smile in the copy ninja's direction. "The new genin nicknamed you, flunk'em fast Kakashi, didn't they? I was just relieved that I didn't draw your name for a team leader. I might still be trying to graduate from the academy today."

Unfazed, Kakashi winked his one visible eye at her.

Masuku suddenly threw her arms around Kakashi's waist and exclaimed, "But you're soooo sweet for caring! I know Sakura is one of your old students... don't worry I'll take good care of her."

Kakashi winced and pushed Masuku away to free himself. Quickly she grabbed his hand with both of her hands, bowing her head. "It will be a task to follow in your foot steps sensei, but I plan to do my best."

Snatching his hand back, he pat her head and said, "Uh uh uh! If you want to get to know me, you'll have to do it the old fashion way. No reading my tenketsu."

Masuku's face contained a dubious expression for just a second, then it snapped back to its eerily pleasant manner. If Kakashi had his sharingan visible, he may have picked up on the anger in her initial expression.

"Masuku Sensei, I think I'm done." Sakura announced. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut, as though her mind was attempting to hold tight to an allusive thought.

Masuku turned from Kakashi and clapped her hands together. "See! We are already making progress."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Shikamaru and Konohamaru both tilted their heads to the left as they watched Naruto climb into Gamatatsu's mouth.

After being released from the hospital, Naruto spent three days at the hot springs with Jiraiya, enduring supposed "research" for his sensei's erotica novels, while much to Naruto's chagrin, Kurama took every opportunity to point out the many similarities between his jinchuuriki and the perverted older man.

For the last three weeks, he spent the morning half of his day listening to long winded lectures about seals and how to safely use them from Hiashi juxtaposed by the lunacy of the afternoon half of his day, which was spent with Hinata, Gamatatsu and Gamakichi dancing and singing... **_Ribbity Ribbity, Can you hear the froggy song? Yes I hear the froggy song! Ribbity Ribbity_**... as loudly as possible.

This was supposedly a training technique for Naruto and Gamatatsu to become in rhythm with one another, but it appeared to be more toad maddness than anything else.

Though they had not quite made it to a point where Naruto was using a significant amount or... any chakra at all, he still got permission to keep Hinata close during his afternoon training sessions. Kurama was in rare form after spending the mornings snoozing to Hiashi's lectures, and the nine tails' trash talking was not helping with synchronization.

"Naruto, this is almost as whacko as Sakura's and Hinata's new sensei." Shikamaru commented, appearing a little less bored than usual.

Hinata's mornings made her afternoons with the singing toads seem normal. Masuku showed up as a completely different person to every morning training session. New look and new personality. She often did not announce herself and made the young kunoichi search for her.

Though the training was unorthodox, it had actually become sort of fun. And amazingly, it seemed to be working. Masuku treated everything like a game of espionage. By the end of the three weeks, both Sakura and Hinata had gotten quite good at finding and reading the basics of Masuku's manipulated tenketsu.

Cool Kakashi Hatake, however, appeared to be less of his usual laid-back and unfazed self and more uncharacteristically harangued by his current 'mark'. In a very passive aggressive game of cat and mouse (though it was not clear who was the cat and who was the mouse), Masuku spent the rest of her time and energy leading her 'tail' on an endless wild goose chase around the village. She seemed to just disappear into thin air whenever she was done teaching Sakura and Hinata.

Sakura had a theory that Masuku was turning herself into a kunei or some other inanimate object just to get under Kakashi's skin. Though Hinata wondered when their strange sensei found time to eat, sleep, and fulfill her other humanly needs if that were true. There was no way she could just forgo normal bodily functions... was there? And it seemed a bit extreme just to show Kakashi up.

Gamatatsu spit Naruto back out of his mouth in a sort of sliding face plant onto the ground. It was a poor attempt to combine the toad's water pistol with Naruto's wind style.

"Well that was acclimatic." Shikamaru sighed, slumping away towards the center of the village. "What a drag."

Konohamaru bent over and peered at Naruto, who dejectedly lay on the ground, limp and soaked in toad spit. He sniffed and laughed, "Well you smell more like a toad now at least..."

"SHUT UP! KONOHAMARU!" Naruto popped up and started chasing the young ninja around, ringing his fists.

* * *

Two days later, in the quiet of his apartment, Kakashi packed a few things in his travel pack to prepare for a B rank mission the next day.

A team of ANBU had been tracking down the whereabouts of Orochimaru and Sasuke Uchiha, and as they were closing in on the hideout, they were ambushed. This was the second time a team of ANBU was taken out just as they got close to the snake sannin and his protege. Almost like Orochimaru and his lackeys knew they were being tailed. However this time one ANBU shinobi managed to send a message back to Konoha before he died.

The hokage planned to dispatch Kakashi with Shino and Kiba to use the intel sent by the dead ANBU team to search for the hide out. If they weren't back in forty eight hours the plan was to again send team seven as back up. Though Tsunade had not completely signed off on the idea of including Naruto and by default Hinata on the back up team this time.

"Meow! Meow! MEEEEOOOOW!"

Kakashi looked up at his window. That same darn tabby cat had been showing up at his window every evening for a few months now.

It was partly his fault for feeding it. But he had fed strays before without this problem. There were an awful lot of them in this section of the village, but none seemed to be quite as persistent as this cat. Or as vicious. It had already scared off a number of other cats and a few small dogs. And he could no longer leave his window open when he was not home, not even just a crack, because the cat also had a bad habit of leaving gifts in his apartment, like the severed body parts of small fruit bats. Kakashi had not realized that there were so many bats in the area until he started finding their heads on his bed.

He opened the window, knowing it would not stop its yawling until he complied and let it in.

Welcoming his guest, he said, "Cat."

The tabby looked at him as if to say, 'Man.' Before sauntering into the apartment and settling itself like a royal upon his bed to await its meal.

Kakashi grumbled, but he went to the refrigerator and poured a bit of milk into one bowl along with some leftover chopped meat into another. The cat waved its paw at him regally before moving off the bed for the food.

"You're going to have to find your own meals for awhile, Cat. In the morning I'm headed out on another mission for a few days."

The cat looked up from its food at him curiously and then licked its paw before digging its head back into the bowl.

"Well... Maybe you can keep an eye out on things around here. You owe me, after the amount of food that you've cost me, Cat. On Naruto and Sakura and Hinata and Yamato and Sai... especially on that new sensei."

Kakashi's voice drifted a bit as he sorted through his thoughts about Masuku. "She's a strange one. And they say I'm odd."

The cat looked up again, but this time it gave the copy ninja a disdainfully bored look before licking its paw again.

Kakashi watched for a few seconds, wondering how he managed to end up with a cat for a roommate. He never liked cats much. Their aloofness reminded him too much of himself. But even though he had not been given much of a choose in the matter, he felt himself warm up to this ornery little creature over the months. That the tabby was independent, set in its own ways, and looked to him only as a way in and out of a warm place to stay and some food, had fit well into his own set routine. And it was nice to share his space and his day with someone or something that demanded very little of him.

So he lay down on his bed, settling into the next chapter of _**Icha Icha Tactics.**_ This was his third time reading the book since Naruto snuck him a copy after returning from his travels with Jiraiya.

After finishing its meal, the cat usually stayed the night, taking several swipes at Kakashi and his book with its sharp claws until he scoot over in the bed, allowing it a section. Then early the next morning, it would wake him up by settling itself on his head and refusing to move, until he finally got up to let it back out.

But this time after only a few minutes, he felt himself being watched. The cat was sitting by the window as though waiting for it to be opened. Sighing, he got back up and opened the window. "Leaving so soon... very unlike you, Cat."

The tabby threw him a hostile look before hopping up on the windowsill and haughtily fluffing its tail and backside in his face. Satisfied that Kakashi knew where it stood, the cat leapt down onto the fire escape and scampered out into the night.

"Well I'm going to miss you too." Kakashi replied sarcastically as he brushed the fur off of his mask.

The cat usually had an attitude when Kakashi got back from being gone for a few days, but he was not sure how a cat was smart enough to understand that he was leaving...

Kakashi paused for a second, and then, he decided to follow.

He moved quietly out of the window behind the feline. Slipping down the fire escape, and into the alley way where he could smell a newly laid cat trail.

The tabby had stopped near a pile of crates and was grooming itself. He could see its shadow but not the actual cat. As the cat licked itself, the shadow seemed to grow and distort, until there was a petite young woman sitting where the cat had sat. A transformation.

And he would have recognized that silhouette anywhere since he had unsuccessfully attempted to follow it for the last several weeks. She was stark naked and still recovering from cat brains as she continued to unconsciously groom herself. Unable to help himself, Kakashi leaned forward to catch a glimpse, then thought better of it.

He always knew that cat seemed way too human. But he had not made much of it because the cat only showed up for food and a warm place to sleep. He also was used to easily uncovering transformed ninja through smell, but apparently Suki Harami could disguise her smell now too.

And the tabby had been hanging around for so long, it did not cross his mind to tie the cat back to Masuku, who supposedly just returned to Konoha three weeks ago. Kakashi would have laughed at the ridiculous situation if he was not the dupe, who had been feeding and housing the kunoichi for months. What was that woman up to anyway?

* * *

Hinata and Naruto sat across from each other in the back of the library, where several rows of wooden tables sat empty as a result of the amount of dust that this section of the building tended to accumulate. The entrance to the long corridor of forbidden text sat just behind the reading section with a decidedly unassuming rope and sign which read, stop! go no further, across it. And that was all the security that the library provided... besides Tosa the ancient librarian from the Hyuga clan whose byakugan was a lot sharper than her demented wits these days.

Hinata lugged in her own five hundred paged text book which Masuku had provided the day before for both her and Sakura to study. It was written by Tshikuto Uchiha who Masuku described as the chakra mechanics expert of his time (which apparently was the decade right before he was sliced open by Itachi Uchiha during the Uchiha clan massacre). The ex-ANBU claimed to carry two of the text everywhere she went, one and a back up copy. Though at first Hinata could not imagine how she was able to tow the massive books around, years later, she and Sakura discovered their mysterious sensei, who had been listed in the bingo book under several different aliases and faces, was renowned first for her skill with chakra manipulation and second for the ability to seal important intel inside of multiple parts of her body with fuinjutsu.

After impatiently waiting for the better part of forty minutes for Tosa to find the book of seals that Hiashi directed Naruto to obtain from the forbidden section of the library, Naruto was aching to do something more than sit around reading and listening to more boring lectures.

At first it had been exciting that the Hyuga clan leader was granting him limited access to this taboo section of knowledge. But the thrill wore off quickly as Tosa handed him a dusty text even bigger than the one Masuku gave Hinata, void of colored pictures or diagrams, and filled with thousands of technical words.

"Jiraiya's gone again and Kakashi is off on another mission. Captain Yamato, Sakura and Sai have been avoiding me like they're up to something." Naruto flipped through the dusty text book in front of him. "I really feel like I should start putting this fuinjutsu training to more practical use. At least the wind release toad gun is coming along. Don't ya think?"

"Oh yes!" Hinata smiled anxiously. A couple of days ago, Naruto and Gamatatsu' wind release toad gun had re-destroyed the section of newly planted woods that Kurama trampled a few weeks ago during the development of the rasenshuriken. The jutsu had a lot of power behind it, but the shinobi and his toad partner still had little control or direction. Sometimes the water came out of Gamatatsu's mouth as nothing more than a blurp. Other times the water shot out with such force it leveled trees for miles.

Konoha's landscaping department had been sending nasty letters to Naruto's apartment as of late, tired of replanting and cleaning up areas of woods and grass, which his training sessions seemed to regularly destroy. Over the last few days, the letters were starting to border on death threats, so Tsunade ordered Naruto to spend some time concentrating on something less destructive like fuinjutsu.

"What do you suppose my team is up to? And what about Shino and Kiba going on a mission with Kakashi without you? It all seems a bit suspicious, ya know."

Hinata buried her face in her own textbook. Sakura was hiding something. Hinata had gotten that much out of her training partner, but she refused to tell Hinata the details of the secret, knowing the Hyuga would not be able to keep it secret from Naruto for long. "I know Sakura's working hard getting through this text like me. I doubt she has time for much else."

"And Kakashi sensei did not want to separate us for that long, so he thought it would be better if I stayed behind."

"Well what are they doing anyway? What is more important than finding Sasuke?" Naruto slammed a fist on the pages of his book causing even more dust to fly about and making Hinata sneeze. "Unless..."

Abruptly, Naruto slammed the book shut.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" Hinata asked timidly not liking the calculating look on Naruto's face.

"We need to have a word with Grandma Tsunade!"

* * *

Kakashi emerged from his hiding spot, burrowed under the ground, to sneak attack the mutated giant, who the others among Orochimaru's latest batch of altered freaks had called, Gozu.

Kakashi's tracking team had figured out early on in the mission that Orochimaru's collection was unmasking their 'tails' by using small bats to monitor the area around them. Kakashi may have overlooked this simple trick if his interest had not been piqued by finding so many of those same identical bats in his apartment for the last few months.

Once the copy ninja took the time to look at the creatures close enough, he discovered that the monitoring bats weren't actual living creatures. They seemed to be made out of some sort of dense and foreign black substance, which was molded and transformed into bats.

Less than twenty four hours ago, Kakashi, Shino, and Kiba had used the ANBU intel to find the identified hideout. But the place was already destroyed. A large number of Orochimaru's experiments were killed in what looked like a bloody massacre to clean house. And not far away, another large group of altered shinobi were crystallized by a strange jutsu along with many of Shino's insects.

A small group from the hideout had been left alive and were traveling west for some unknown purpose. The tracking team trailed the altered shinobi until they discovered the bats. But it was too late, the bats must have already alerted their master to the Konoha team because, soon after, Gozu and his comrades turned back to ambush the trackers.

The large man named Gozu, had an ability like the Akimichi Clan and was able to expand parts of his body. But apparently this was enhanced by the ability to contract parts of his body as well, giving him an unexpected amount of speed, which threw Kakashi completely off kilter.

Even with his sharingan, Kakashi had already missed Gozu once with his lightning cutter. Without decelerating, the giant slammed into him, expanding his body at the last minute and sending Kakashi crashing into a tree. The impact caused the tree to split. But it did not knock the copy ninja out cold. Feigning unconsciousness, Kakashi was able to quickly replace himself with a shadow clone and hid underground to wait.

When the clone drew Gozu into exactly the right position, Kakashi emerged with his lightning cutter. But Gozu contracted again and sped off at the last second, causing the blow to slice into an arm instead of vital organs.

Even injured, the altered shinobi was too fast for Kakashi to catch, so he left the giant to flee and went to search for Kiba and Shino. The injury was enough to perhaps cause Gozu to bleed out and die later on if he did not find medical attention soon enough.

Still dizzy from the blow into the tree, Kakashi trudged further west. He had seen Kiba run off in this direction and he could smell Akumaru's trail a mile away. But he was definitely off kilter. He had been off kilter ever since he discovered Tsunade's instincts about Masuku were correct.

He had not reported his discovery to the hokage yet. Partly because this mission was top priority and partly because the more who knew about Masuku, the greater chance she would pick up on the fact that her cover was blown.

If she realized Kakashi was on to her too soon, Masuku could prove to be very dangerous. And he was also not completely certain that she had not blown her cover on purpose. Shinobi like Masuku's greatest weapon was to always be a step ahead while appearing to be several steps behind. But if she was acting as a double agent... perhaps for Itachi Uchiha and the Akatsuki, why was she killing off what were clearly planted monitoring bats and leaving them for him to find?

Kakashi came upon Kiba in a clearing as four of Orochimaru's altered shinobi turned to run off. He rested a hand on Kiba's shoulder. Several trees surrounding the clearing were ripped to shreds indicating that Kiba and Akamaru had used the fang passing fang technique to battle the enemy ninja. Sediment, from an attempted smoke screen, was still settling, but Kakashi's attention was not on the remnants of the previous battle. He was distracted by the small ninja who ran off to the right.

The boy was horrifically thin and pale. He looked as though he had gone for some time without sufficient nourishment. He also appeared to have some kind of alopecia causing him to look almost skeletal. But his most alarming feature was his white left eye. The right eye was hidden behind a half face mask.

Whether it was a transplant or not, the white eye was definitely a byakugan. But with Kakashi's sharingan uncovered, he easily picked up the faded marks of the caged bird seal on the boy's forehead. The Hyuga clan's secret curse seal. So the kid was once a branch family member?

"They got away from me!" Kiba growled. Akumaru barked angrily next to him.

"That thin kid with no hair... he's a Hyuga." Kakashi said to Kiba, ignoring the younger ninja's frustration.

Kiba shrugged. "I didn't get a good look at him. Was too busy fighting the other three. He just kind of sat back and watched."

"Ummm." Kakashi grunted.

"We have a problem. The enemy sensed my insects surrounding them and ran." Shino appeared out of nowhere. "My insects attempted to recover the quarry, but they just hit some sort of barrier."


	8. Orochimaru's Collection

**Thanks for reading! A couple of clues to the path of the rest of the story in this chapter.**

 **And continuing the three tails arc...**

* * *

Lady Tsunade sat at her desk, examining the crystallized insect brought back by Pakkun, Kakashi's ninken. She whispered to herself, "A crystal style user..."

"Wow. What kind of strange jutsu did that, milady?!"

The hokage looked up at the team that Shizune ushered into the room. The three younger members of team Guy... Lee, Tenten, and Ikko stood in front of her looking expectantly. Lee looked like his usual overly optimistic spandex green clad self. Tenten stood extra straight and tall, as she tugged at the collar of her long white shirt, eager to be in the presence of the legendary sannin, Tsunade Senju. Ikko adjusted his glasses, his light blue eyes looked timidly up from their usual resting place... his feet. He wore his hair long and shaggy like most of the other male members of the Yamanaka clan, and in appearance, he could have been the male twin of his cousin, Ino. But the reserved young shinobi was her complete opposite in almost every other way.

All three of the chunin were taijutsu or bukijutsu experts, along with Ikko's medical ninjutsu and ability to connect multiple minds telepathically, this was the perfect team to support Shizune's next mission.

"Kakashi sent it back for us to analyze." Tsunade replied, thoughtfully. Like everyone else, she thought there were no more ninja in the world, who could use the crystal type ninjutsu. It had always been a rare and coveted skill. But this crystal style shinobi was definitely very real and very powerful. For the ninja to be able to crystalize even the inside of a living creature required immense skill. This had Orochimaru written all over it. "His team is in pursuit of a crystal style user and a group of Orochimaru's altered shinobi. According to Pakkun, the trackers aren't quite clear on the group's intentions yet, but they are definitely headed west with a purpose."

Tsunade paused, still considering whether she should continue with this plan. She could only trust her assistant Shizune with something so delicate. Early this morning... before even dawn, the hokage woke to find a scroll containing vital information sitting on top of all of the undone paperwork on her desk. Tsunade had spent the entire night locked alone in her office. None of her guards saw anyone enter her office or knew how it got there, and the scroll contained no identifying markers.

This should have been the type of dilemma that she discussed with her council, Homara, Danzo, and Koharu, but they had been over stepping their bounds and questioning all of her decisions lately. Particularly Danzo who apparently thought he was hokage. And the other two old fools were becoming his puppets. No. Tsunade could trust them about as far as she could throw them. On second thought... she could throw them pretty far, so not even that.

Tsunade began to address the group again. "By chance, some intel has come to me from a unknown source, which may explain what the group is up to. According to the source, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and his collection... along with a group of Akatsuki are looking to capture the three tailed beast, Isobu. The tailed beast has been roaming free since his jinchuuriki was killed by Itachi Uchiha and his dead partner, Juzo of the mist some years ago. Isobu likes wet places and was last seen in a lake that lies west of Orochimaru's hideout. This intel is of course... suspect, since the source didn't identify themselves, but Kakashi's latest report concurs that at least one of these groups is traveling west towards this lake. I've sent team seven to back up the trackers, I want the three of you... lead by Shizune to check out the lake where the tailed beast was last spotted."

"If they have indeed raised the beast from the bottom of the lake. It will need to be sealed. Advanced chakra manipulation and control are required for this task... Hinata and Sakura should already be headed that way. Shizune and Ikko, you will be the other two, who are needed to seal the beast. Lee and Tenten, you will replace Sakura and Hinata on the back up team. I'll send Pakkun back to Kakashi with the plan."

Tsunade leaned on her hands and looked at the team fiercely. "But be careful. This could be a trap."

"Yes ma'am!" The three young ninja said in unison.

* * *

"What the hell is this?!" Naruto demanded, as the back up team was impeded from moving any further by a large wall, which looked to be made out of pink crystal. The wall extended so far up above them that the top was not visible from the ground, and it cut through the woods, running for miles each way. Yamato had already sent Sai and Hinata to inspect the enormous crystal from the air on one of Sai's beast scroll birds.

"It looks like some sort of dome. There is no way in from above." Sai informed the group when he returned.

"And I couldn't see anything inside it. The crystal is refracting my byakugan. It could be hollow or completely solid." Hinata made her report. "Even just standing close without looking directly at it is causing interference. I can't tell if the tracking team is inside... but I saw traces of their chakra this way before the barrier went up."

Yamato nodded, placing his hands on the cool surface of the stone. "Maybe we can try underneath."

Earlier that day...

Naruto crashed his way into Lady Tsunade's office with Hinata in tow. He swung the door open so hard, the piles of papers over the desk and the floor went flying in a white cloud of contracts and proclamations. "I found out about the secret mission Grandma!"

Naruto angrily pound his hands down on Tsunade's desk as Hinata made herself as small as possible behind him, her cheeks redden by the brash level of disrespect shown towards the hokage.

"Oh really?" Tsunade, however, was used to this kind of outburst from Naruto and had been expecting it ever since she decided not to involve him in this latest mission to search for Sasuke.

Naruto tracked down Sai on his way from the library, knowing he was the weakest link in any secret. And Sai cracked even easier than expected, divulging that team seven, with the exception of Naruto, had been dispatched to back up Kakashi's mission. Naruto still had no clue of the purpose of the mission, but he did know come hell or highwater, he was going to be a part of it.

"Oh come on! I'm part of team seven too!"

After frantically attempting to catch as many of the flying papers as possible, Shizune explained, exasperated. "We're just worried that you might do something rash... like use that new jutsu again if you go after Sasuke."

"So this mission is about Sasuke?! And you're keeping me from it?!" Naruto narrowed his blue eyes at Tsunade. She stared back at him just as fiercely. Their eyes locked for a minute. He broke first. "Look. I'm never gonna use the rasenshuriken again, believe it! I just need to be there when we encounter Sasuke again. I wasn't myself last time. I didn't get to say all of the things that needed to be said. I was... I am Sasuke's good friend. He needs to hear from me that this is still his home -that we are all still thinking about him."

Tsunade broke now too. She sighed. "Fine. As long as Hinata is accompanying, you can go."

"Yippee!" Naruto hugged Shizune, knocking the papers out of her hands again. Then he grabbed Hinata and spun her around, before he took her hand and rushed out of the office. "Gotta go!"

"Wait! Don't you want to hear the mission details?!" Tsunade called after Naruto. The door slammed shut behind him.

Six hours later...

"Well, digging under didn't work." Yamato stood back up after attempting to dig under the wall with his wood style. He frowned. "We know it's a continuous, solid structure... no weak points to target."

He walked away stratching his forehead with a finger in deep thought. "We would need a jutsu that is wide ranging and extremely powerful to even have a chance to break through. And that's only if it is not solid all the way through -which hopefully it is not."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other. Seeing the look, Sakura narrowed her eyes and said sharply, "Don't even think about using THAT jutsu. You promised Lady Tsunade."

Hinata placed a hand on Sakura's arm. "Not the wind style rasengan. Naruto has been working on another jutsu. That's why I've had to train with him in the afternoons."

"What? Really?" The others asked in unison.

"I guess we weren't the only ones holding back information." Sakura commented, looking back and forth between Hinata and Naruto. "I no longer feel guilty."

Naruto bit his finger, made some hand seals, and planted his hand on the ground, summoning Gamatatsu and Gamakichi. The large orange and yellow toads appeared in front of them.

"And how come I'm the last to know that you can summon two giant toads?!" Sakura placed her hands on her hips, angrily. She mumbled. "Great team mate communication."

Chuckling uncomfortably, Naruto shrugged and then climbed on top of Gamatatsu. Hinata climbed on Gamakichi, sitting cross legged on the toad's head and facing Naruto and Gamatatsu.

Tapping Gamatatsu's head, Naruto said, "Ready."

The yellow toad nodded in response. "Long as I get my snacks!"

"Ok. Stand back you guys!" Naruto instructed.

Yamato, Sakura and Sai cleared the way and climbed up into the tree branches above, not sure what to expect.

Gamatatsu said in his airy voice. "Think happy thoughts of all of the snacks I can eat. Infuse my chakra in my tummy and focus it. Breath in deep through the nose."

The chubby yellow toad sucked in a visibly large quantity of air, causing his already extensive stomach to extend even further.

"That's it! Hold it! Don't let it out until Naruto gives ya the signal!" Gamakichi cheered them on.

With her byakugan, Hinata watched like a hawk as the enormous amount of white chakra surrounding Gamatatsu merged with the chakra released from Naruto's hand as he placed it flat on the toad's head. She suppressed Kurama's chakra completely. "NOW!"

An immense surge of water shot out of Gamatatsu's mouth, crashing into the crystal dome and enveloping it. A small crack started slowly, becoming larger and louder until the enormous crystal exploded, shattering into millions of tiny pieces. The barrier fell, allowing the back up team through. Yamato and Sakura leapt from tree to tree by foot. Sai swooped down with one of his beast scroll birds. Naruto and Hinata led the way carried forward by the leaping ninja toads. Hinata could make out the tracking team's chakra, where they had been trapped at the center of the barrier.

When the back up team made it to the clearing, they also encountered the source of the barrier.

"Well this is unfair! Eight against one ...not counting the dog." A tall woman with wild purple hair and a long green kimono with chrysanthemum flowers printed over it stood in front of them. "First you follow my people for miles and now you gang up against a poor helpless woman. Some one might have to do something about your gall."

The woman waved her hand in the direction of Hinata, as she climbed down from Gamakichi's back. Hinata, whose senses had gained an unnatural amount of power as she trained under Massuku and began to draw more on her seals, was aware of the surge of chakra as it came her direction. Knowing she was not fast enough to dodge the jutsu, she closed her eyes and pressed outward, opening every single one of her tenketsu fully. In seconds, crystal surrounded her, encasing Hinata inside.

"HINATA!" Naruto moved to leap from Gamatatsu's head as Kakashi grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back by his neck.

"Don't move." Kakashi hissed. "The crystal is fragile. We've already seen this happen to Shino's bugs. If is shatters, Hinata shatters with it."

"She won't get away with this!" Naruto yelled, flailing his arms and attempting to get out of his sensei's grasp. Kakashi let him go, dropping him on the ground. Naruto stood back up and barked at the crystal style shinobi. "YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! TURN HINATA BACK!"

"Naruto..." Kakashi started.

"Gamatatsu, let's do this!" Naruto hopped back onto the toad and slapped his hand down on the toad's head. The toad sucked in air and spewed the powerful stream of water in the direction of the crystal style user. The woman stuck out her hand lazily in response.

"Really? That's the best you can do?" She turned the entire stream of water to crystal. Kakashi grabbed Naruto and pulled him off Gamatatsu again, as both toads disappeared to avoid being turned to crystal along with the stream of water.

Whipping her finger up in the air, until the stream of crystal followed and turned into a fierce crystal dragon with large jagged crystal teeth and fiery yellow eyes. It roared at the konoha shinobi, causing them all to take a step back. Then the crystal dragon swooped down, picking up crystalized Hinata in its mouth. "I'll just be taking my hostage and..."

Suddenly a loud cracking sound was heard again. The crystal user looked up. "Wha.. how?"

All of them watched in horror, as the entire crystal, Hinata and the dragon, exploded into millions of crystal shards. "HINATA!"

Naruto knocked Kakashi away and ran forward. The crystal style user turned to wave her hand in Naruto's direction, but Kakashi was quicker. Hand seals flying, he slapped the ground and a large rock wall erected itself between the crystal style user and Naruto. The young blond ninja caught Hinata in his arms as she fell from mid air.

If any of the others had a byakugan and could see chakra, they would have seen that Hinata was encased in a thin layer of red chakra which dissolved quickly as Naruto hugged her to him, ignoring the fact that he almost got turned to crystal too.

Sakura ran up next to Naruto. "Let me take a look."

As Sakura began to examine her training partner, Kakashi said to Yamato. "How is this possible? We saw all the others who were trapped inside that woman's crystal jutsu, shatter with the crystal. And how did the crystal, that was still under the control of the crystal style user, shatter too?"

"My insects were crystalized all the way through... and they shattered into bits of dust as soon as they were touched." Shino added.

However, Sakura had also gotten pretty good at reading chakra. Before they left on this mission, Masuku started to show her students how to emit enough chakra to complete an advanced transformation, changing not only form, but also size, smell, and voice. She also taught them that reading chakra points was an easy way to uncover a transformed Shinobi just by touching them. Sakura read Hinata's tekentsu as she examined her for wounds. "All of her chakra points are fully open. All of them. If she released enough chakra from all of her tenkentsu, the crystal jutsu could not even touch her."

Finally, Hinata opened her white eyes and was accosted by a barrage of hugs and kisses from Naruto.

"You're ok! We thought you were a goner for a second there!" Naruto hugged Hinata even tighter, causing her squeak.

"Naruto... I... can't breath," Hinata whimpered softly.

"Oh! Sorry." He let her go and then said coolly, "but I told them not to worry, ya know. I knew all along you were going to make it. No way that old lady was taking my girlfriend down!"

"Really Naruto? You were the worst one of us. Just give her some space please." Sakura growled at her teammate, pushing him away. She asked Hinata, "You're ok?"

"I'm ok..." Hinata smiled and nodded. "I was able to release enough chakra to surround myself competely."

"Good thinking Hinata." Sakura squeezed her training partner's shoulder, proudly. "Maybe our sensei is not so wacko after all."

Later when they walked separate from the group, Hinata whispered up to Naruto, "it was Kurama."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, looking down at her confused. "The nine tails? What about him?"

"When that ninja started to crystalize me, I sensed Kurama's chakra through the seal, but it was not trying to flow into you like usual. And then all of sudden, I felt this urge like I was going to explode. I was not only releasing my own chakra but his too. It was easy after all that work we've been doing with Masuku Sensei. My chakra surrounded me, cushioning me. And then Kurama's chakra followed but it was so powerful it destroyed the crystal."

Naruto nodded his head, instinctively placing his hand over his torso. "So the nine tailed fox is good for something after all. I'll have to thank him."

* * *

Kakashi inspected the part of the monitoring bat that he had stuffed in his pack before the altered shinobi ambushed them. He still was not sure what the thing was made out of. The material was definitely organic, but it was also not normal living tissue. He planned to take it back to the village to have it analyzed. Once Pakkun returned, he would send the wing back to Konoha with the ninken along with the intel that he had gathered on Masuku and that Hyuga boy who he spotted among Orochimaru's subordinates. He was certain that Masuku knew what these bats were and what their master was up to. But the hokage would have to decide what to do with the information. He looked at Yamato. "We can use these bats to find their trail again."

Yamato looked at the disfigured black wing in Kakashi's hand. He made a disgusted face, or as much of a disgusted face as Yamato's flat expressions allowed. "What is that?"

"It's the wing of a monitoring bat. One of the altered shinobi is able to use them to watch the area around the group. That's how they caught us tailing them." Kakashi figured that the bats must have to return to their master to relay the information that they gathered. It was the reason why Masuku or "Cat" was ripping the creatures apart. If they could not fly, they could not make a report.

"So if we follow the bats... they'll lead us right to their master." Yamato looked up at Kakashi, understanding. "Excellent idea senpai."

Kakashi and Yamato relayed their plan to the rest of the team. "Maybe you should stay back Hinata, with Sakura and Sai. It will give you some time to recover."

"No." Hinata shook her head. Shifting to try and make herself appear back to her normal self. She was determined not to be a burden on the mission though her body still felt achy and fatigued. "I'm ok. I can go on, Sensei."

"Well, we should still split into two groups anyway." Kakashi continued. "Group one... Yamato, Shino, Kiba, Naruto, and I will follow the bats. Sakura, Hinata, and Sai will fly above and avoid being seen. The bats will likely alert their master about those of us following them. If the altered shinobi try to ambush us again, the second group should reveal themselves and box the altered shinobi in long enough for us to capture one or a couple of them."

The team split and headed west to pick up the trail of the crystal style user and Orochimaru's collection. After a few minutes they found a monitoring bat to follow and tailed it for a better part of a half hour uneventfully. Unusually active for the daytime, the bat flew quickly and kept the group's pace close to a pressed sprint. Kakashi and Yamato took the front. Shino swiftly moved silently in the middle, and Kiba and Naruto squabbled in the back, slowing them down until Kakashi reached the end of his rope and ordered Naruto to move to the front. That is when Naruto crashed into an entire tree full of bats scattering them in several different directions.

"Keep alert! I'm sure their aware of us by now!" Kakashi called to the others. As he said this, Yamato and Naruto began to cough and the air became thick with smoke. "It's a smokescreen! This is how the ambush started last time!"

The five shinobi in the trees found themselves surrounded by a dense cloud of smoke which made breathing hard and seeing impossible. They dropped to the ground, standing back to back in a circle and waiting for the ambushers to appear.

"Why are you still following us?!" It was a deep, male sounding voice. Kakashi listened closely to pinpoint the shinobi's exact position. "You can't see. WE can. You won't win this fight."

The enemy shinobi were shadows in the smoke, like ghosts without any real substance or position. The five leaf shinobi pressed back together even further, shoulder to shoulder in their circle.

A face appeared right in front of Kakashi. It was one of the altered shinobi who Kakashi saw run from the clearing after fighting Kiba. But oddly enough the shinobi now had one of the monitoring bats attached to his neck, and like a black parasite it appeared to have bitten into him and clung on. The altered ninja was completely unfazed by this, and his eyes were also now completely white... just like a byakugan.

Kakashi dodged the strike that came at him. Then he felt wings flap down above him, dispersing the the smokescreen. Hinata appeared from above. She struck the shinobi several times causing him to fall back before she moved off, disappearing into the thick smoke.

Kakashi heard the same male voice yell. "SHE HAS A BYAKUGAN TOO!"

The shadows began to retreat, but stopped as a loud rumbling sound was heard further west. Kakashi turned and spotted the strange hyuga ninja from before, crouched at the edge of the clearing. His byakugan was activated and the right half of his face was now uncovered. A black parasitic looking thing grew out of his right eye socket and covered the right side of his face. As malnourished as the boy appeared, the thing almost seemed to be feeding off of him. Then one of the bats dislodged itself from the neck of another of Orochimaru's collection and flew at the boy, landing on the black substance and merging with it. The black thing bubbled and enveloped the creature until it disappeared.

Behind the hyuga boy, a large tsunami grew like an ominous wall above the trees. The force of the precipitation that preceded that gigantic wave caused the temperature to drop abruptly. Flattening large oak trees like river weeds, it swiftly crashed through the woods towards them. The young ninja's one eye opened fearfully as he looked over his shoulder at the wave. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. A shadow clone.

Someone shouted, frantically, "RUUUUNNNN!"


	9. Respectfully, Senpai

**Hello! Weekly chapter update... and the three tail arc concludes... this one is kind of long so split in two chapters.**

 **I still own nothing... except Tobi's 'Senpai Song' -sorry ahead of time :)**

* * *

Sasuke steadied his feet on the murky blue surface of the water. The lake was large enough that it extended west beyond the horizon and split the forest for miles on either side. Large portions were obscured by a thick mist, which continued to gather at the water's edge after the beast was raised. The mist swirled and crept over the lake's surface but was obstructed from coming closer as Sasuke and his team restrained the three tails. He hated to think what that mist could do if it ever reached them.

Another massive tidal wave rolled toward Sasuke from the enormous and very agitated armored beast facing him. He braced himself again and skillfully surfed the tsunami.

This plan was not going as smoothly as he had hoped. But Orochimaru's constant taunting and Sasuke's unchecked arrogance would not permit failure. The three tailed beast was going to be his... no matter what.

Isobu, who appeared to be an awkward cross between a mutated spiked crab, a turtle, and an octopus, was immobilized again, but it was visibly straining against its invisible bindings. The beast had already managed to overpower the control of the little boy, Yukimaru's siren call and Sasuke's sharingan. It had broken through Guren's crystal prison and created a shockwave that knocked them all back with several powerful tidal waves.

Sabui's byakugan seemed to be able to pacify the bijuu for the moment. But would it last? How had that Hyuga girl managed to so easily tame a fiercer beast like the nine tailed demon? Because she already had a relationship with its jinchuuriki, and the three tails was free and wild?

Right after his encounter with Kurama, Naruto, and Hinata at Orochimaru's hideout, Sasuke sent Sabui to infiltrate Konoha. He wanted the boy to spy and steal the secret to the Hyuga's power over Kurama. The one piece of intel that Sasuke gained from this mission was that he needed a binding seal to gain full use of Sabui's ability to tame the tailed beast.

Sasuke searched for months through Orochimaru's most taboo and forbidden jutsu, but he could find nothing about binding seals. After he uncovered the location of the one bijou without a jinchuuriki, he managed to finally convince his mentor that he had the ability to capture the three tails before the Akatskui and ** _that man_** got to it. He could not allow his treacherous brother to have any more power, and he wanted the power for himself.

Luckily, Orochimaru's butt kissing shadow, Kabuto Yakushi, had been away for a couple of weeks. It gave him just enough to time to sell his plan to his mentor. Orochimaru had wanted a tailed beast for himself for a while, anyway. And the idea of sticking it to the Akatsuki by taking the three tails first made Orochimaru, gleeful. For some unknown reason, Orochimaru's hatred of that organization may have even outmatched Sasuke's hatred for one particular member of said organization. So it was not too hard to sway the power hungry sannin.

Sasuke just hoped that his collected team would be enough to take down the beast, but he had doubts from the very beginning. Now he was certain it would be much easier if he could have just gotten his hands on a binding seal. They needed the full power of Sabui's dojutsu.

"Did you dispel the clone?" Sasuke looked over at his very frail and hunched over comrade.

"Yes, Senpai."

Sasuke was not sure why he bothered to ask. Sabui always did everything he asked him to do without hesitation. The young man's blind loyalty was useful, but it also grated on Sasuke's nerves. No one should ever be naive enough to just follow without question.

"Try trapping it again." Sasuke instructed the crystal style user, Guren.

"That only agitated it last time, and..." She stopped her intended argument, as she encountered the impassive look on Sasuke's face. Guren's place on this team was unreliable. So far she had stuck to the plan, but she was only driven by the promise that Sasuke would help her and her little brother, Yukimaru, escape from Orochimaru's clutches if she helped him capture the bijuu. Sasuke had no intention of keeping that promise and it was unclear if Guren realized that yet or not. "Fine."

"Once Guren traps the beast. Move closer this time." Sasuke looked over at Sabui once again.

The other ninja nodded that he understood, readjusting the half mask that he always wore over the right side of his face to hide the hideous creature underneath. Even with the monstrosity covered, Sabui's wasted muscles and skeletal appearance managed to bother even Sasuke, who was well known among Orochimaru's other subordinates for his total lack of empathy.

Sabui had a permanently crouched and kyphotic posture from growing up in the cramped spaces of Orochimaru's inhumanely small dungeon cells with limited nutrition and sunlight. Also the creature that the snake sannin attached to the young ninja, appeared to feed off Sabui's chakra, which deactivated the curse seal on his forehead but also prevented him from maturing like a normal teenage boy. Sasuke would have guessed that they were both around the same age, but Sabui was much smaller in stature.

Sasuke first found his loyal follower about a year ago, while searching through Orochimaru's mutants for recruits who might be useful to him. Initially, he had no use for the altered byakugan user. All of Sabui's talents were in intel gathering alone. Sasuke's curiosity was only piqued by the origins of Sabui's dojutsu, which he recognized was specific to a clan from his own home village. So he released the boy and demanded that Orochimaru let him take Sabui as his assistant.

"What possible use can that boy be to you? You are supposed to be training to become lethal. That kid will just make you soft again." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at his student from the shadows behind his desk. "I should have disposed of Sabui years ago... it was all sentimentality -he is a relic from my home village too, afterall."

"I need an assistant, and I've chosen him." Sasuke said again, not making any effort to clarify himself or his intensions.

"Just let him keep the boy." Kabuto spoke up from the side of the desk. "It can't hurt anything, and it will be one less experiment to clean up."

Orochimaru shrugged and waved his hand in acquiescence.

Eventually Sasuke found a use for Sabui after he witnessed Hinata use her byakugan to pacify Naruto and Kurama. He also soon discovered the rest of Sabui's pathetic life story.

Right after the nine tails attack, Orochimaru somehow got his hands on a Hyuga baby. He removed the baby's left byakugan and merged the creature to the nerves in the child's eye socket in order to deactivate the caged bird cursed seal that linked Sabui's byakugan to the Hyuga clan leader before he was old enough to activate his dojutsu for the first time. The clan inevitably believed the boy was dead.

Sabui grew up thinking that his clan freely gave him up to Orochimaru, and he had a lot of anger towards Konoha and the Hyugas as a result. Sasuke, however, knew enough about the Hyuga clan to highly doubt that version of Sabui's story. It was just another way to control him, but Sabui had been among Orochimaru's collection for so long, he only knew what the sannin told him.

Orochimaru lost interest in Sabui several years ago, as his interest in the byakugan waned and his interest in the sharingan grew. He locked the kid away with the rest of his discarded experiments until Sasuke found him and released him.

Guren flew up above the tailed beast and made hand seals. Large pink crystals sprout from the bottom lake and encased the gigantic bijuu again. The beast's body wriggled, but its one large red eye was hypnotized by Sabui's byakugan causing it to only struggle weakly. Sasuke activated his sharingan again and moved forward, motioning for Sabui to follow.

The creature made a loud and almost painful moaning sound and crouched back into its shell as the crystal wrapped itself around the beast completely. As its eye disappeared back into the shell, the creature broke free of the ninjas' control again, and it began to pound its entire body against the crystal, cracking it faster than Guren could create and repair it.

"Yukimaru!" Sasuke yelled back at the young boy with long green hair and lavender eyes, who had stood quietly watching the others attempt to capture Isobu.

The boy looked dazedly at Sasuke. Then he looked down at a crystalized flower that he always carried with him before he turned his attention to Guren.

"Yukimaru. Call to the beast again, please... for me." Guren called down to her brother from above them. She appeared to be the only one who the boy listened to completely.

Sasuke sneered, disliking not being in total control of his team.

Yukimaru opened his mouth, unnaturally wide. A high pitched and jarring screech came out, which sent shockwaves back at the tailed beast, pounding against its hard shell and sending smaller tidal waves in its direction. The beast stopped beating on the crystal prison and listened. Its eye came back out of the shell and opened staring bright crimson at them. The tailed beast's response followed.

Instead of a shockwave, a large ball of water nature chakra was returned. The team was completely taken by surprise, and this time, the tsunami that followed tossed all four ninjas out of the lake and into the nearby forest.

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes to a canopy of bright white light refracted through hundreds of green leaves and branches. The surrounding forest and air was still damp after the water from the lake receded. The tidal wave left behind a thick mist in its place.

She felt the power of the mist immediately dampen her emotions. She could feel herself becoming incredibly sad, uncontrollably sad. It was a type of genjutsu. She cut the flow of her chakra, reversing the effects of the bijuu's power.

She stood and wandered until she found her way out of the mist. She was exhausted and she could only hold her chakra control for so long. She collapsed again as soon she was clear, passing out cold.

An hour later...

"She's awake." A face appeared above Hinata as she opened her eyes again. She recognized it, but had not been expecting to see it.

"Back up Lee." Shizune pushed the younger ninja away and started to inspect Hinata. "Hey... you ok?"

Hinata nodded, still dazed. She sat up and looked around. The mist was still present nearby but it seemed to have reached as far as it could travel inland. Hinata had passed out just outside of it. Now Tenten, Lee and Ikko stood behind Shizune, looking down at her. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Lady Tsunade sent us on a separate mission in this area. Pakkun should be filling Kakashi in on it, wherever that last tidal wave washed him to."

Hinata had no idea what was happening at the lake, but their teams had been bombarded by a series of tidal waves over the last thirty minutes. She had lost everyone though she could sense Naruto nearby.

He appeared to be getting closer to them. Quickly. She felt an alarm start in the pit of her stomach. There were lots of him coming from several directions in the mist. She pushed back through the seal, suppressing Kurama's chakra though the nine tails seemed to be unusually submissive already.

"WHY YOU SNAKE, OROCHIMARU! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIS BODY! RASENGAN!" Suddenly multiple Narutos appeared out of the mist, charging at them with rasengans in hand. Yamato appeared at the same time from the other direction, slamming an extended wooden arm into the real Naruto, causing his rasengan to explode prematurely and splitting the wooden arm almost all the way back to Yamato.

At the same time, Hinata squeezed her eyes shut and slammed down on the seal, cutting the flow of Naruto's chakra. The flying clones disappeared into a puff of smoke and Naruto's eyes cleared as he woke up out of the illusion. "Huh? Wha' happened?"

Then he slumped forward, passing out from shear exhaustion.

Lee stood up shocked and incensed. He rang one bandaged fist in the air. "Why would Naruto come at us like that? We are here to help the team!"

"It's the mist." Yamato responded. "It has the power to create genjutsus."

"The three tails... that's his power. We came to locate Isubo and seal him before anyone else can capture him," Shizune informed Yamato. "Before the tidal waves, we spotted Sasuke with the crystal style user and two other ninja on the lake. They had already raised the beast from its resting spot and were trying unsuccessfully to capture it."

"Sasuke is here?" Hinata asked anxiously. She moved over to the sleeping Naruto, after Yamato used his wood style to drag him out of the mist. Once Naruto realized Sasuke was nearby, no one was going to be able to stop him from going after his friend.

* * *

Kakashi woke to find himself roughly handled in a loose fireman's carry, causing his head to bobble and collide with every single branch that his would-be rescuer passed.

He attempted to act like he was still unconscious while deciphering exactly where he was and who he was with, but his rescuer sensed his consciousness as soon as he woke up.

"Ahh! So you're awake." It was a male voice and definitely not one of his teammates. The stranger half put him down and half dropped him on the forest floor before assisting to prop him up on a tree trunk. "Do you think you can walk? I'm not the strongest shinobi... and you're heavy."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the silver haired man in front of him. He remembered this face. The man was once a Konoha ninja... now he worked for Orochimaru. "Kabuto Yakushi. What do you want with me?"

"You almost drowned in that last tidal wave. I saved you. I would've thought you'd be more grateful... but I guess my intensions seem untrustworthy. Don't worry. I have no angle." Kabuto stopped talking and waited for Kakashi to respond. When he got no response, he asked, "No thank you, Kakashi Hatake?"

Kabuto adjusted his round framed glasses and sneered. He had on a long robe with a hood, as if he had been sneaking around and trying to hide his face. When Kakashi only continued to quietly stare at the silver haired man suspiciously, he said, "typical. I'm always SO under appreciated... no matter who or what I am."

Why would Orochimaru's secondhand man save him from the tsunami? He was an enemy to Konoha. He was the same man, who had helped Orochimaru infiltrate the village and kill Lord Third several years ago during the chunin exams. It made no sense. But Kakashi read nothing from Kabuto's demeanor other than the usual condescending sarcasm. He sat up and stretched his body to make sure nothing was injured and everything worked. "I'm good. So now what? You're here for the three tails I assume."

After the first tidal wave, Kakashi ran into Pakkun who informed him about the attempt to raise and capture the three tails, and Shizune's team's mission to seal it.

Kabuto scoffed. "Actually I'm only here to make sure the three tails doesn't kill Sasuke Uchiha. And it's better Konoha seals the beast than it lands in the hands of the Akatsuki."

"Sasuke? The Akatsuki?" Kakashi asked.

Kabuto sighed. "That little idiot is trying to use his underdeveloped sharingan and an unsealed byakugan to capture a wild bijuu. Even with the crystal style user and that kid's siren call as back up, he has no chance without a binding a seal, which by the way he does not have. Reckless. The last time some one tried to capture a wild bijou without a binding seal, he died. Oh and by the way, he was a hokage."

Now Kakashi sighed. Other than the three tails, who had for unknown reasons been free for most of its existence, there had not been any other wild bijuu for almost a century. That is... besides the short period of time that Kurama was set free before Minato died sealing him inside of Naruto. The village hidden in the mist were the last to seal the three tails in a jinchuuriki, and it was well known that the fourth Mizukage and Isubo were both bound to a shinobi named, Ao, who managed to steal a byakugan from the Hyuga clan during the third war. Then Itachi Uchiha killed the Mizukage, freeing the three tails again.

Because of his genjutsu wielding mist, impenetrable shell, and penchant for hiding in water, Isubo may have been almost as formidable as Kurama, himself. But unlike Kurama, the three tails only attacked unless he was disturbed. Therefore, the reason why no one bothered to take the time to find and capture the three tails again... until now.

"Lord Orochimaru's protege has become almost as power hungry as his mentor. And to make things even more complicated, the Akatsuki have sniffed out the wild bijou as well. Two of them will be showing up anytime now."

"Lady Tsunade sent a scroll with a fourpoint seal that can seal Isobu in a time and space dimension away from here. The tailed beast has been without a jinchuuriki long enough that it is completely wild and therefore very powerful and uncontrollable. It won't sit still for the sealing... which is a pretty delicate process. Plus, you, Kakashi Hatake, also have to deal with your rogue ex-student, a skilled crystal style user named Guren, and all of their various henchmen. Not to mention the two Akatsuki who should be here soon..."

"I can give you a relatively seamless plan. You just need to trust me. Which I'm sure you still don't... but..." Kabuto and Kakashi eyed each other for moment.

Kakashi said, coolly, "what's your plan?"

"You will need to send Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura out to the beast first. Sakura, Hinata... and by default, Naruto, have enough resistance to the mist's genjutsu. The beast will have encased itself in the mist by now to prevent attackers from getting too close. Even without a seal, Hinata's byakugan will have some suppressive power over the beast... enough to allow Sakura and Naruto close enough to connect with its eye. Its one eye is the only vulnerable part of the beast. Naruto should use his rasengan and Sakura has been working hard to blend her chakra manipulation with her strength. I must say both kunoichi have a very good sensei, don't they?"

Kabuto paused smiling at no one in particular. Then he looked back at Kakashi and cleared his throat, waiting for agreement. Kakashi just silently waited for the man to continue without changing expressions or agreeing.

"Well, ok then." Kabuto scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Once the beast is blinded, it won't be able to swim away. The rest of the sealing team should be ready to start the sealing immediately. While this is going on, you and the others will have to distract your competition. Naruto, of course, will attempt to go after Sasuke... I have nothing to solve that problem."

Kakashi rubbed his temple. A dull headache was starting to form. He had a bad feeling he already knew the answer to his next question. "And may I ask how you know all of this?"

Kabuto stood up and flashed a smile down at the copy ninja. "I think you're good enough to make it the rest of the way on your own."

He pointed to the right. "Your comrades are just a bit further that way."

Then Kabuto hopped up into some tree branches above, pushing his hood back up over his head.

"You never answered my question!" Kakashi called after his rescuer.

"Oh... a little cat told me." Kabuto disappeared into the shadows of the woods. Kakashi thought Kabuto's voice sounded distinctly feminine during that last statement.

* * *

Deidara had reached the end of his rope by the third day of their mission to relocate the three tails. Why did he always end up with the weakest link for a partner? Granted, Sasori was an asshole with a terrible disposition, but this Tobi character was a complete dimwit.

Pain must have been hard up for members. Was the new recruitment criteria anyone who could fit into the Akatsuki's black robe with red clouds now?

Tobi spent the entire first day singing, **" _Senpai, Senpai, Senpai, I'm going on a trip. It makes me want to skip. And do a double flip. Dango with chocolate chips. OH! Senpai, Senpai, Senpai, I'm going on a trip!"_** He sang this very loudly while he was actually skipping, which was even more ridiculous being that he was a six foot man dressed in a spiral orange mask and the long black Akatsuki robe. He looked like a large upside down exclamation point.

The second day Tobi would not stop asking stupid questions in a very insistent and invasive fashion, during which he pushed his entire body including his foul smelling breath into Deidara's personal space.

"Hey Deidara Senpai? Hey ho Deidara Senpai? Hey ho ho! Ya think we close? Huh? Huh? Huh? Ooooooh! Dango!" Abruptly Tobi dashed off to buy two dango sticks from a nearby shop.

When he finally found Deidara again, who had purposely wandered off in an attempt to lose his partner, he promptly shoved one of the sticks in the other Akatsuki member's face. "Here ya go, Senpai. Dango! Our favorite!"

Tobi paused and inspected his own bamboo stick curiously. Then he looked back up at the blonde ninja who was staring disgustedly at the stick of melting caramel covered dumplings in his hand, which had picked up a couple of flies on the way back. "Would ya like to see my face, Senpai? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Deidara just looked at him blankly, unimpressed. But Tobi shook his finger in Deidara's face. "Oh no no no! Don't be so tricky! No peeking!"

He quickly turned away and engulfed his entire skewer of dumplings, flies and all, underneath his mask.

The third day, Tobi decided to take up a game of hid and seek, during which he hid and Deidara did not seek him.

When the mask man finally did pop out of hiding (much to Deidara's disappointment), the blond ninja said, "we're close enough to split up. You scope out the northern half and I'll travel around to the southern half of the lake."

"Sure Deidara senpai. But how do you plan to capture that enormous and very strong tailed beast with your pathetic little boom booms?" Tobi asked in his innocent high pitched voice.

Completely losing his patience, Deidara turned and yelled, "IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF MY FACE, IM GONNA USE MY BOOM BOOMS ON YOU!"

Deidara started tossing explosive clay at Tobi's feet causing the tall thin man to jump and trip in a half jig half running fashion into the woods. "Wait, Senpai! Wait!"

With a devious and satisfied half smile, Deidara turned and walked south alone.

* * *

Naruto stood next to Hinata within the mist. With her byakugan activated, she was concentrating on the large red eye of the beast. She could feel Kurama reluctantly lending her some of his chakra through the seal again. She had not spoken to him directly, but she was fully aware of his feelings about this foolish task. Still he was not going to let her die. The boost helped her hold the beast while cutting the chakra flow to both her and Naruto's nervous systems in order to block the mist's genjutsu power.

"Are you ok? Ready?" Naruto asked Hinata. Hinata nodded her head in confirmation.

"Here we go!" Naruto made hand seals and a hundred clones surrounded the beast. The real Naruto ran forward hidden in the middle of the massive crowd and tossed two transformed fuma shuriken at the tailed beast from behind Sakura. Concentrating chakra up her legs into her thighs, Sakura leapt off the water surface, flying out of the crowd of clones so fast she was almost invisible. Naruto's clones threw themselves at Isobu, clamping down on his shell and his tentacles to prevent the beast from trying to protect his eye.

Hinata grunted as Isobu began to strain against her. This was not like with Kurama. Without a binding seal, she felt like she was trying to hold onto a piece of slippery ice.

Sakura concentrated her chakra in both of her fists, increasing the already immense force. She reached back behind her head as she neared the red eye and pounded the iris with two powerful blows, before dropping back and allowing the shuriken to transform into two Narutos carrying a giant rasengan. At impact, the blast shut Isobu's eye completely, blinding him.

The beast roared in angering, sinking down into the lake.

"Hinata! Sakura!" Shizune and Ikko appeared in a plank boat made by Yamato as soon as the mist cleared with the retreating bijou. She unrolled the large scroll that Tenten had been carrying and began to unlock the prepared seal. Hinata and Sakura joined them on the boat as Naruto fell back to join the others who stood around the area of the sealing in a large circle ready to protect the sealing team from any attackers.

Ikko connected the four sealing ninja telepathically to keep them all in sync. Then Hinata, Sakura, Shizune and Ikko made hand seals. Grabbing the four points of the seal, they carefully carried it off the boat and onto the water. Slowly, they walked over to the place where the bijou disappeared and activated the seal. Underneath the water, the protests of the trapped bijuu could be heard. All four strained to keep the beast from thrashing loose. Even if he was blinded and unable to swim directionally, Isobu was still overwhelming strong.

"We're going to need more chakra." Shizune pushed down harder, in an attempt to release as much chakra as she could into the seal. "Katsuyu!"

The slug crawled out of Shizune's pack and up onto her shoulder. "Yes Shizune ma'am?"

"We're going to need more chakra. Please tell Lady Tsunade and spread out amongst us all."

Three more Katsuyus appeared on the shoulders of the three younger ninja. The slug said, "Lady Tsunade says she is sending more chakra."

Katsuyu activated her own chakra, filtering it into the four sealing ninja. The chakra grew even denser as the hokage merged her own chakra into her summoning animal.

Meanwhile among the protectors, Kakashi looked left to right. He stood on one side of the sealing team. Yamato stood on the other side and five of the younger ninja stood in between them. Sai was waiting to provide air support in the cliffs above.

Soon after, the smoke screen came as expected, spreading in a massive cloud over the lake and engulfing them. Kakashi made note of the fact that the ninja who produced this smoke screen seem to have gained a significant amount of power in just a short period. This cloud was much larger than the previous smoke clouds. "Yamato!"

Yamato made hand seals, using his wood style to build a huge structure around the sealing team.

Kakashi called, "Remember the plan!"

They could not see yet, but Kakashi closed his eyes, concentrating solely on his chakra awareness. He could faintly feeling the presence of the ninja in the smoke screen. He waited until the nearest one came close enough, before opening his eyes to duck a blow. A kunai slid into his hand as slashed across himself at the shadow, turning fully into a low kick to knock the ninja off of his feet into the water.

"Smoke strangle hold!" The enemy ninja called for his jutsu, as a thick and almost solid column of smoke came at Kakashi wrapping around his neck and his chest and torso, squeezing.

Multiple sets of wings came from above, as multiple of Sai's scroll beast birds swooped down on the smoke screen clearing the thick air with the flaps of their wings.

The column of smoke wrapped tighter, causing Kakashi's eyes to bulge as he gasped for air. As Kakashi finally passed out, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. The real Kakashi appeared behind the ninja, tapping him on the shoulder before he rested his kunai against the ninja's throat. He pulled the monitoring bat off the other side of the ninja's neck. "Now you can't see, either."

"Smoke gun spray!" The ninja, creating the smoke screen, shot smoke from a large gun in the form of bullets at Sai's birds causing them to explode into globs of ink. "It's not enough! I have more smoke than you do wings! Give up!"

Yamato directed his water release jutsu at the smoke screen ninja, dampening his smoke and cause the bullets to disperse into perceptive clouds. Then Yamato reached a wood arm out and battered the ninja across the head, knocking him out.

Lee and Tenten double teamed a ninja who appeared to be able to shift his hands into weapons at will. And Naurto and his clones along with Kiba and Akamaru fought the ninja named Gozu, who apparently did not drop dead after Kakashi's lightening cutter injured his arm.

Gozu was not able to use his speed on water, but he pulled a completely new power out of his pocket this time, shifting portions of himself into soft and pliable mud as Naruto's clones attempted to make contact with him with taijutsu.

Then suddenly from the cliffs, loud screeching screams came towards them like shock waves. The enemy ninja dispersed quickly, leaving the konoha ninja to fight to keep the huge waves from knocking them off of their feet into the water.

The shockwaves created by the screams crashed into Yamato's wooden barrier, causing it to explode into a thousand pieces. The sealing team was shook, and all four ninja lost some of their hold over the seal.

Unable to resist the siren calls and his restraints starting to weaken, the bijou began to buck hard against the seal. It thrashed its four long armored tentacles at the seal until it broke through, tossing the sealing team with the tsunami that it created while diving out of the water.

Kakashi grabbed Naruto's collar as the kid flew past him, tossed by the next wave. Squating and placing his other hand down on the water surface, Kakashi concentrated enough chakra in his palm to steady himself on the wave. He looked over at the cliffs to the source of the screams. Sasuke.

The Uchiha stood watching them from the edge of the cliffs next to the boy who was producing the shock waves. The altered hyuga ninja stood next to him, hundreds of his bats surrounded them. Sasuke held the crystal style user by the collar. His sword blade rested against her throat as she lay half limp on the ground next to him.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. What was going on? He was taken aback enough that he loosened his grip on Naruto. That was a mistake.

"Sasuke." The name escaped Naruto's lips just before he took off towards the cliffs.

"NARUTO!" Kakashi called after him, pushed backwards by the waves. He put both his hands down now to keep from being tossed any further and sighed. He knew trying to stop his student was futile. It was best to find Hinata before Naruto did anything rash and lost control.

Naruto dashed across the lake closing the gap between him and Sasuke. He created two shadow clones to toss himself up onto the cliffs. He made it half way up before the three tails came that direction, aiming a large bijuu bomb at the direction of the siren call. The cliff side exploded.

Naruto jumped off, catching the crystal style user as she fell off the side of the cliff from above him. Naruto's legs were caught by a chain of his clones and swung back to the cliff side. The screaming continued as Naruto climbed up the side of the cliff with the unconscious Guren. He had to get the boy to stop screaming. The three tails seemed disoriented again and was shooting bijuu bombs in other directions, but it would not be long before he retargeted them.

By the time Naruto made it to the top, Sasuke was gone and the screaming boy was alone. Naruto moved towards the boy with Guren in his arms. "Please stop. I'm here to hel..."

The boy knocked Naruto back with one of his screeches, causing Naruto to drop the woman and fly back into a nearby tree at the edge of the woods beyond the cliffs.

Now the screaming stopped as the boy crawled towards his sister who lay limp on the ground.

"Naruto." A voice drifted down from above him in the tree branches. He looked up to find Sasuke standing there.

"Sasuke." Naruto looked up at his friend.


	10. The Three Tails Is Captured

"Again you insist on inserting yourself in the middle of something that has nothing to do with you." Sasuke activated his sharingan, dropping out of the branches and thrusting his sword blade down towards Naruto.

Naruto jumped back to avoid being sliced in half. "Sasuke I came to tell you..."

"I don't care what you have to tell me." Sasuke came at Naruto again, stabbing through the heart of a clone who Naruto created in front of himself.

"Sasuke why are we fighting?! Why have you turned your back on the one place where you belong?!" Naruto stopped dodging and creating clones, willing to take whatever blow Sasuke was ready to deal him. "I think about you all of the time. We all do... because we care about you and..."

Sasuke scoffed. "Your soft heart will get you killed then."

Sasuke swung the blade again, this time at the throat of his old friend. Suddenly Sakura appeared in front of Naruto, the blade struck her neck, but it did not pierce through the skin. Stopped cold by a layer of chakra that she released from that chakra point. Sasuke scowled.

"Sasuke. Don't. I'm not going to let you do this!"

"Sakura." Sasuke removed his blade from her neck. He asked, "now it's your turn to save Naruto?"

"Sakura let me handle this..." Naruto started.

"NO!" Sakura balled up her fists, closing the tenketsu at her neck and concentrating chakra in her right palm. Calmly, she said. "We are going to save you, Sasuke, and you are going to let us."

Sasuke did not respond. He just stared at her like she was an irritating nat.

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" She reached back and struck her fist at Sasuke's chest with full impact. He moved back swifter than her punch. The blow missed by an inch.

Dispassionately, Sasuke looked down at Sakura's fist. "Finally growing a backbone, I see, Sakura."

Sakura opened her fist, so her palm faced Sasuke's chest. The concentrated chakra in her palm struck out at Sasuke's chest with the powerful blow of the punch, knocking the wind out of his chest and sending him flying backwards. He just barely caught himself in time with his feet as he landed against the tree, cracking it in half and toppling it over into the forest.

Panting to regain his breath, Sasuke squatted down on the fallen trunk and leered at his old teammates, anger filling every inch of his face. The curse mark on his neck began to curl up onto the side of his cheek.

Hinata appeared next to Naruto then, hopping down from Sai's beast scroll bird. "What's going on?"

Sasuke's sword began to light up with the sparks of his lightning release as he activated his chidori. He raised his jutsu toward Sakura, ready to blast her off the mountain side. "I told both of you to stay out of it!"

That's when the rest of the cliff exploded as Isobu came back around, targeting the group again with his bijuu ball.

Naruto created a massive amount of clones. The chain of clone dove out and caught Hinata as she fell, surrounding her to take the impact of the hundred foot fall into the water. The other chain of clones tossed Sakura up onto Sai's bird. Naruto grabbed hold of the remaining side of the cliff, avoiding the avalanche of rocks that slide into the lake.

He began to climb up to save the crystal style user and the little boy, but Gozu dove out of the rock, grabbed hold of the unconscious Guren and her little brother and disappeared into the forest within seconds. Sasuke was already gone.

Naruto let go of the side of the cliff and dropped into the water below.

* * *

After carrying Hinata out of the water and laying her on the rocky beach of the lake, Naruto put his ear to her chest. He hoped Sakura was around but he could not see any traces of her nearby. Sai must have carried her back to the others.

Hinata began to cough up lake water. She sat up pushing it out of her stomach and her lungs. Naruto pat her back, moving her long wet hair out of her face. "I'm... I'm ok."

Soaking wet, Naruto and Hinata grabbed hold of each other relieved that the other one was still alive. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Naruto looked concerned and turned Hinata's face towards his face with both of his hands to make sure she was telling him the truth. She nodded. "Yes. I'm ok."

He looked back out at the lake. The three tails was still on a rampage and would soon be headed back their way. "We need to stop it with something just as pow..."

Having a thought, he stood up, made hand seals, and bit his thumb, slamming his palm on the ground. Gamatatsu and Gamakichi appeared.

"Hey ho, Naruto!" Gamakichi greeted jovially, than he spotted the tailed beast angrily thrashing around in the lake and spitting enormous bijuu bombs causing destruction for miles around the lake. "Ooooh... that's a tailed beast."

"Yah and we're going to take it down!" Naruto said confidently. "Time for the water pistol, ya know!"

"Sure thing!" Gamatatsu got himself into position.

"Ummm, Naruto." Gamakichi replied gravely. "I hate to tell ya' this but the water pistol ain't gonna work. That's an amphibious creature... spraying water at it is like putting a fire out with fire."

"Yeah, ok." Naruto thought again. "Well what about just using my wind chakra..."

"Earth beats water... no earth style ninjas around here." Gamakichi looked at Hinata. "You ain't got earth chakra do ya?"

Hinata smiled apologetically. "No. Sorry."

"What about fire... That's why Sasuke and I complement each other." Naruto looked back over at the nonexistent cliff where he last saw Sasuke. If it was not so important to stop the three tails before it made it further down the lake and destroyed a town or something, Naruto would have gone after Sasuke again. Even so, he still felt conflicted.

"Huh?" Gamakichi asked, confused.

"My wind style enhances Sasuke's fire style."

"Well that's an idea!" Gamakichi said cheerfully.

"We don't have any fire nature chakra and even if we did, water beats fire." Naruto sighed sitting down on the ground in frustration.

"I have fire style chakra." Gamakichi replied. "And I have a good idea how to enhance the fire to over come water. Water and oil don't mix after all."

Gamakichi turned to Gamatatsu. "Go back home and fill up your stomach with as much toad's oil as it will hold. Naruto will summon you again in one minute!"

Gamatatsu replied, "Ok Brother." And he disappeared.

"This will work I know it." Gamakichi said to Naruto. "You better get in position Hinata, we're about to take down a tailed beast."

Hinata climbed up on Gamakichi's head as Naruto resummoned Gamatatsu with his belly full of oil. Naruto climbed up on the yellow toad. "Ready?"

"Ready." Gamatatsu and Gamakichi replied. Gamatatsu sucked air into his nose and filled out his belly with chakra. Naruto slammed his hand down on the toad's head as Hinata monitored.

As the toad's oil shot out of Gamatatsu's mouth, Gamakichi released his fire, setting the stream of oil ablaze.

Isobu shot a bijuu bomb in their direction but the fire over came the massive ball of water, pushing it back until the fire covered Isobu. The three tails screeched and screamed before it moved back to the center of the lake and dove underneath, disappearing.

"Woohoo! That did it!" Gamakichi cheered.

Naruto hopped off Gamatatsu's back and helped Hinata down. "Thanks you guys!"

"No prob." The toads disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

Sasuke and Sabui stood in front of Orochimaru's desk and waited for his response to their report of the events involving the three tailed beast.

"Well that's disappointing." Orochimaru folded his hands across his chest. "I so wanted to deal that blow to the Akatsuki."

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the impassive face of his student. "And you were so sure you were powerful enough to take Isobu on."

He licked his lips, a half smile forming on his face. "I guess you still have a ways to go Sasuke. Tell me again what happened when your friends from the leaf showed up?.. Beat up by a little girl, tsk, tsk, tsk."

Sasuke sneered at Orochimaru. "She was useless when we were teammates. Apparently she's learned something since then. I underestimated her - but it will never happen again."

"And what happened to my crystal style ninja and her brother? They were both very valuable -how did you manage to lose them?" Orochimaru continued. "Or did they get to your soft heart... and you let them go?"

"That was my fault." Sabui spoke up before Sasuke could answer. He could see the curse mark on Sasuke's neck starting to grow, and he did not want to find out the outcome of a fight between mentor and student.

"Oh?" The snake looked at the altered ninja.

"She tried to use the distraction of the tailed beast to get away. I used my bats' echo location to block her crystal style. And Sasuke incapacitated her... but then Yukimaru called to the beast again..."

"And they both fell off of the cliff and died." Sasuke finished.

"Are you sure they're dead?" Orochimaru asked, suspiciously

"They're dead." Sasuke repeated, turning to leave the room without being dismissed.

Orochimaru began to cough uncontrollably, pounding his fist against his chest. A bit of blood came up which he quickly wiped off the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. "This body is weak and worn down. Soon it will fall apart completely. But I'll have a new one by then -take care of my new body, Sasuke."

Unconcerned, Sasuke raised his hand at Orochimaru and continued to walk out of the office with Sabui following close behind. "Don't worry about me. It would be such a pity if you coughed up a lung and drop dead... or befell some other horrible fate before then."

Sasuke had no intension of giving Orochimaru his body. He had not succeeded to capture the three tails, but there may have been another way to quickly gain the power that he needed to kill his brother.

Once they were alone in the hall, Sasuke stopped and looked down at Sabui. "I want you to look into a few things for me. I'm forming another team and I'll need three more members. I need you to scout out a list of potential candidates from Orochimaru's collection. Send me back the intel, so I can narrow it down."

"Yes, Senpai." Sabui paused, thinking. He knew Sasuke had been looking through Orochimaru's subordinates and experiments since before he was freed, but he did not know the reason why. "May I ask what this team is for?"

"I have a brother to kill."

"What about Lord Orochimaru?"

Sasuke continued to walk down the dark corridor. "I'll take care of him."

* * *

Deidara blew up the three ANBU stationed to watch over the lake and the three tailed beast while the konoha ninja left to regroup. "Well that was too easy."

He flew out over the lake on his clay bird with Tobi sitting in the back squawking as usual. Deidara dropped a massive amount of clay spiders into the lake, detonating them under the water to agitate the bijuu from its resting spot again.

"Senpai! This is soooo exciting! We're about to catch a tailed beast -a HUUUUGGGE tailed beast!" Tobi looked over the edge, curiously. "Ummm Senpai? Shouldn't you get down there... it's about to swim up."

"Nope." Deidara kicked Tobi off the back of the bird and gleefully watched him fall into the water with a loud SPLASH. "It's your turn. I caught the one tail. You can catch this one. This is what it means to be part of the Akatsuki, Tobi. Time to work for your keep."

The three tails dove out of the water creating a large wave. Tobi screamed and ran in the other direction. "But Senpai! What about you?! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Deidara chuckled to himself as Isobu caught hold of Tobi's robes and drug him under the water. He created two large clay fish and dropped them in the water to go after the beast and its quarry. "Well he does make a good distraction, if nothing else."

The fish swam faster than the three tails, making their way around the front to where the eye was open and vulnerable before exploding. The explosion knocked the beast out cold. Isubo was weakened after an entire day of an endless turnstile of attacks and an hour long rampage. Fatigued, the beast groaned concedeing defeat as to floated to the surface of the water.

"YIPPPEEEE!" Tobi cheered as he freed himself from the unconscious beast. "I just tamed that beast single handed! Did you see that Senpai? I was like WOO! And it was like RRRRRGH! Then I was like WOE! And it was like BOOM! AAGGHH!"

Tobi put his hands around his neck and pretended like he was dying.

"Shut up." Deidara sat down on the clay bird and lazily dropped another clay bomb over the side. The explosion hit the three tails' belly and knocked Tobi off into the water. Splash!

Hidden in the shadows of a nearby tree, Kabuto watched as the two Akatsuki dragged the tailed beast out of the lake.

* * *

Kakashi sighed as he looked up at the gates of Konoha. It felt like years since he had been home. Reflexively, he wondered if he might find a present waiting for him on his bed. Unfortunately, the mission was a complete failure. No sealed tailed beast. No Sasuke.

"I need Ichiraku's. Immediately!" Naruto ran through the gates, dragging Hinata by the hand. The others groaned, following behind.

Kakashi slowly strolled into the village at the back of the group with his hands in his pocket. He stopped and watched as a stray cat crossed the street in front of him. Well maybe it was not a complete failure. He now had confirmation that Masuku was several steps ahead of them, and for some reason, she wanted him to know it. Rounding the corner, Kakashi headed towards the academy, he would deliver all of his intel to the hokage.

* * *

"DAMN IT!" Lady Tsunade pounded her fist on her desk, causing a pile of papers to slide and fall off onto the floor. Then she stood up to look out of the picture window overlooking the village with her arms crossed over her chest. She sucked in a deep breath and released it angrily. "The ANBU stationed at the lake have disappeared and the three tails is gone! How did this happen!"

Shizune squeezed Tonton to her for comfort. "It's my fault milady! I should have been able to seal the beast… your plan was flawless."

Tsunade ignored her assistant and turned to stare at the scroll that was left on her desk by the mysterious source. "It was the Akatsuki. They're the only ones who could have tamed the beast that quickly and quietly."

"They've been able to beat us at every turn. What will happen when they come here? And eventually they WILL come here." Tsunade spoke to no one in particular. At least, no one in that room.

"What about Kakashi's intel? Could the spy be the reason why the Akatsuki are able to always beat us to punch?"

Tsunade looked at Shizune now and sat down in her desk chair. "I thought about that. Kakashi thought about that too. But we both concluded that she is the one who left the scroll on my desk alerting us to the intention to raise and capture the three tails. We would not have even known to send the sealing team if it were not for that. She's definitely after something, but there has been no indication that it is to harm Konoha. I've asked Kakashi to continue to keep a close eye on her but to allow things to continue to play out for now."

"I'm more immediately worried about the altered hyuga ninja who appears to being following Sasuke Uchiha." Tsunade continued, deep in thought. "I haven't said anything to Hiashi -but I will have to soon. From what Kakashi says… he sounds about the right age."

Shizune looked back at her gravely. Because of their traditions, not many Hyuga ninja had gone missing over the years. The last one was a baby who went missing with his mother just before the nine tails attack sixteen years ago. He was taken along with a young Uzumaki girl and her mother. Kakashi was the one who found the Uzumaki girl alive in the woods. Then later, the bodies of the hyuga woman and the girl's mother were found in a cave. The Hyuga baby was never found. He was Hiashi's nephew.

"That will open a whole new can of worms."

* * *

 **Until next week's update...**


	11. Seals, Clones, & Fratricide

**Early update... will be another on Sunday as usual.**

* * *

Hiashi closed the door to his office. It had been awhile since he convened his entire counsel. The four leaders of the four factions of the branch family, who behind closed doors called themselves the four generals and their elders, those who they succeeded if they still lived.

The factions were split into the four sections of the Hyuga compound. Hiashi's younger brother, Han, ran neighborhood South and had succeeded his uncle, Hizan, Hiro's younger brother. The other three, Ahn, Shin, and Ko each ran West, East, and North at the discretion of Hiashi. Each general had access to the cage bird seal of the members of their faction, and therefore their byakugans.

"I called this meeting to talk about the news of one of our clan members, who has been found among Orochimaru's collection." Hiashi sat down at the head of the long table. He looked over at his father, who looked back at him with the shimmer of tears in his white eyes. "We believe he may be Hizashi's long lost son... my nephew, Neji, who disappeared when he was barely a year. Obviously this has to be handled delicately. There has never been a Hyuga who was raised outside of the clan and with full access to their dojutsu."

Hiashi went to his father as soon as Tsunade told him the news. He knew Kakashi's intel was reliable though it seemed impossible for Neji to still be alive. Hiro had taken the loss of his only grandson and then his second oldest son hard. It visibly aged him a decade in just a few months. Hizashi was never the same after his wife was found dead and his son disappeared. He voluntarily took Hiashi's place when Kumo came for retribution after Hiashi killed one of Hinata's kidnappers twelve years ago. He said he was ready to die and to join his wife and his son. It had been a hard time for their clan and their family. Hiashi feared getting his father's hopes up for nothing.

Hiashi put his hands on the table. "The table is open for discussion."

"Master Hiashi. What is being done to recover the boy?" Ko asked, politely.

"And once he is recovered, how will his presence affect the flow and the solidarity of the clan? He hasn't been trained like the rest of us since birth. The orderly bonds, that bind our clan members, need to be preserved." Ahn added.

"I understand he is your nephew but I agree with Ahn. In the past when others have attempted to leave the clan their caged bird seal was activated and their byakugan sealed... the only exception is those sealed to a bijuu." Shin spoke politely but with more conviction than what was expected from a Hyuga ninja.

Hiashi cleared his throat. "I understand the concerns. But the first priority must always be to keep the clan together as one. Once we recover the boy than we can decide how to handle his situation."

"That brings us to your question, Ko. The hokage is already attempting to capture and return Sasuke Uchiha to Konoha. She will allow a Hyuga to accompany all recovery efforts as it appears once Sasuke is captured the boy will follow willingly. Even if the Uchiha is not captured, the boy will likely be present and so will an opportunity to take him by force."

* * *

Three months later at Orochimaru's Northern Hideout…

Jugo punched Sasuke with such force that he created a hole in the concrete prison wall. His enormous rock hard fist was barely held back by the larger grotesque hand that grew out of Sasuke's back. The curse mark stretched across the left half of his body distorting his form into a bat like creature.

Karin wailed in fear. "Sasuke! Don't die! We've only had so long together..."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes. "I told you this was a bad idea."

Sabui squat in the shadows of the prison wall and watched quietly. Unlike the others, who had only recently spent an extensive amount of time around Sasuke, he had basically been Sasuke's shadow for the last year and a half. There was no doubt in his mind that Sasuke would win this fight.

In just the last three months, the Uchiha's strength had grown with incredible and quite frankly, impossible speed. And then he killed and absorbed Orochimaru. Sabui could see clearer than anyone that Sasuke's chakra had evolved after that. He was less reliant on the curse mark. It had almost become his play thing, costing him absolutely nothing to activate it at will. Just as these three recruits were becoming his latest play things.

Unlike Karin and Suigetsu, who Sabui had already written off as loud and delusional, he realized that he had gone from being a part of Orochimaru's collection to now being a part of Sasuke's collection. Sasuke was by far a much better master… but he was still a master.

He just hoped this new guy was more reasonable and sane than the last two recruits. Even with Jugo's bipolar intent to kill, that was still a possibility.

Being back here at the northern hideout, where he had once been locked away with every other failed and dangerous experiment for almost seven years, Sabui wondered what happened to Kabuto after Sasuke killed Orochimaru. Though no one else seemed to care about the little weasel of a man, Sabui had always had a soft spot for him. He was after all Sabui's first non-painful memory.

Three years prior...

"Wake up… wake up… Sabui." A voice drifted to him in the dark. Sabui had been locked in this particular cell for what seemed like months. With no light except for the tiny stream that came in when the slot opened to pass and receive trays of slop and water.

Sabui had not eaten in a couple of days. The food made him sick. Orochimaru was putting something in it to make that thing on his face inactive. The thing also hibernated while in quiet and darkness for an extended period, so he was kept in solitude and without light for most of the time.

No one had spoken to him in what seemed like forever. He was completely unaware of time or the passage of time. He counted his life by the number of breaths that he took. He was not even sure how old he was any more. Though he was told he had aged twelve years… maybe a year or two ago?

Then that voice came to him through the door.

Sabui crawled to the door and looked out of the open slot. It took him awhile to get there as he had not used his legs for an extend period of time. He grunted. His voice was also very weak.

"Sabui." A man's face appeared through the slot with silver hair and round glass frames. "It's Kabuto. Remember me?"

Of course he remembered him. Kabuto had once experimented on him. It was years ago when Orochimaru still had a high level of interest in him. But then, Kabuto abruptly disappeared, and a new subordinate took over preforming the experiments until Sabui was locked away for good.

This Kabuto seemed different than the cold and calculating Kabuto from back then. His eyes almost looked kind. Maybe it was a trick? Or more testing? "One day a boy with black spiky hair and eyes that turn red will come to release you. Follow him -he will lead you out of here and away from Orochimaru. Until then... don't die."

Sabui did not fully trust Kabuto at first. But then nothing bad happened to him after the visit, so he thought maybe… just maybe, the man was telling the truth. Then he began to live for those words. He lived through the next five years, in darkness and solitude, only because of that visit and those few words. And then the promise came true and Sasuke Uchiha appeared to release him.

Jugo's next punch barely missed the spot where Sabui sat. Sasuke looked down at his comrade and said, "Sabui… stop day dreaming."

Sabui nodded and moved over. Now Karin turned her look of disgust from Suigetsu to Sabui. "I don't get why we need any of these experiments. Sasuke, you and I were leaders in Orochimaru's organization for a reason. These two are nothing but toilet scum -Suigetsu can't be trusted and this ugly one here…"

Karin scrunched up her nose as though she smelled something foul. "He is completely useless. Look at him. He would be broken in half if he had to fight."

Sasuke's voice became cold and calculating. He lost the patient annoyance that he had been using on Karin previously. "You've never seen what's under his mask. Underestimate him again and maybe one day you won't wake up… ever again."

Karin's eyes opened up wide and she took a step back. "Well… I…"

"I WILL KILL YOU!" Jugo swung his fist out again, this time extending it towards Sasuke in a wild and powerful blow. With ease, Sasuke dodged the fatal strike just it time for Suigetsu to counter with his executioner's blade.

"WHA! YOU WANT SOME OF THIS TOO?" Jugo turned on the thin boy with white hair and sharp shark's teeth. "I'll gladly beat you until your dead!"

"Woe, Jugo… your technique has improved since the last time we fought. But is it enough? I wouldn't count on it!" Suigetsu taunted, a mischievous smile crossing his lips. He had been waiting for the chance to truly tryout his new blade.

"Stop Suigetsu!" Sasuke warned. 'We are not here to fight. I just want to talk to him."

"Oh yes! I remember now. Suigetsu. We fought before." The features on Jugo's face deepened into a crazed grin. He was filled with pure malicious glee. The dark marks, which covered the left side of his body and extended into his large rock hard arm and hand, became even darker and more concentrated. His arm shifted to a huge ax with a sharp blade edge.

"I doubt he has any intension of listening to anything but the swing of my blade, Sasuke." Suigetsu retorted.

"Hum? Sasuke? Where have I heard that name before?" Jugo curiously looked at the pale boy, who he had just tried to kill.

"Don't turn your back on me!" Suigetsu swung at Jugo again. Jugo quickly spun around and countered the attack.

"I told you two to stop!" Sasuke commanded again.

"No! Don't stop! Kill each other!" Karin balled her fists and cheered the fight on, happily. Sneering, Sabui looked at her and wondered if Sasuke's last statement gave him permission to kill her in her sleep.

Jugo and Suigetsu continued to exchange blows, until they managed to destroy the rest of the wall trying to kill each other. Sasuke suddenly appeared between them. Large white snakes slithered from his body and wound around them until they were both restrained. He squeezed. Now he used the cold voice on them. "If you want to die, I can make that happen. Otherwise, we will sit and calmly have a conversation."

The marks started to recede from Jugo's face as he transformed back to his normal form. Karin swooned and loving whispered, "Did you see that? Oh Sasuke, you are so incredible."

Sabui ignored Sasuke's display of power as he had seen it many times before and looked nauseously at Karin.

"You were really going to kill us, weren't you?" Suigetsu voice was higher pitched than usual. Sasuke let go of them, his snakes retreating back into his body.

"AAAAGGHH! Why am I out of my cell?" Jugo woke up as the marks disappeared completely. He ran back into his cell, dragging an enormous two ton ball and slamming the door behind him. "Lock the door! Quick!"

Sasuke calmly walked to the door. "Jugo, I mean you no harm. I only came to free you."

"NO! You have to leave me here! I don't want to kill anyone else!"

"Jugo. You can't stay here. Orochimaru is dead. The northern hideout is nothing but rubble now. If you stay, you'll die."

"I don't care. Dying would be better."

"Come with us. I can be your cage -I can keep you under control. I promise."

"Only Kimimaro could keep my impulses under control. Find him and I will go... Otherwise I can't leave without him."

Sasuke sighed. "Kimimaro is dead… he died for me. Because he was no longer strong enough to be Orochimaru's new vessel. I took his place... so in a way... it's like I'm his reincarnation. Let me show you."

Motioning to Sabui, Sasuke said, "I'm only opening the door a crack."

Sabui lifted his half mask to reveal the black creature underneath. Karin gasped and moved behind Suigetsu. The creature bubbled and produced two small bats. One flew to Sasuke attaching itself to his neck at the base of his skull. The other flew inside of the prison cell. "Let that creature attach itself to you, and you will see Kimimaro again."

The small bat clamped down on Jugo's arm. His vision became cloudy and he began to see a jumble of scenes in front of him. "What is this?"

"Don't fight it, Jugo. Just watch." Sasuke replied.

Soon the scenes straightened themselves out becoming clearer, flowing together into a story, and feeding him Sasuke's memories.

Jugo relaxed into it. A small smile forming on his lips as if he were high on a drug. Soon his vision cleared again and he softly, said, "Sasuke Uchiha. You've come back for me."

Standing up, Jugo moved towards the door and opened it all the way. "If Kimimaro sacrificed his life for your life than I need to see for myself exactly what type of ninja you truly are."

"Good." Sasuke pulled the bat from Jugo's arm and set it free to fly back to its master. He pulled the one off of his neck and crushed it, tossing it away. "Now I have my perfect team assembled."

"Would you like to tell us what this team is for?" Suigetsu looked at his nails, bored.

"I am going to kill Itachi Uchiha of the Akatsuki." Sasuke turned and looked hard at each of them. "But to succeed I will need help from each of you. It's your chose of course… but you will need to decide now if you plan join me in this task."

The three newest members each agreed to join. Sabui remained quiet. Sasuke already knew that he had no where to go and no reason to live other than to serve Sasuke's purpose.

"Well that settles it. From now on, we are a team. We will all move together as one. And we will be known and feared as the Hebi."

* * *

Naruto sat with his legs crossed and his eyes closed on the ground, as though meditating. Hiashi Hyuga stood nearby with a scowl on his face. Naruto opened one eye and looked in the direction of his sensei.

"You're not focused enough!" Hiashi warned sternly.

Naruto's eye snapped shut, and he puffed. He really wished Hiashi would relax a bit -kind of like Jiraiya and Kakashi. He could not work under these conditions. All this intensity was distracting... and it made him nervous.

He felt like Hiashi's intensity had gotten even worse ever since they returned from the mission to find Sasuke and seal the three tails. He was not sure why, but abruptly a couple of days later, Hiashi was gungho about putting all of Naruto's knowledge about seals to practical use. Every day for hours, they had practiced using the binding seal to call to Hinata or to see different angles through her byakugan while he was sparring. Hiashi had even started to teach him how to create a sealed shadow clone... though so far it looked more like a mass of melted skin.

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto focused a significant amount of his chakra into the binding seal.

' _Don't screw up again…'_ Kurama's deep voice warned. Naruto shoved a stopper on that section of his mind. Over the last couple of months, he had also gotten really good at shutting out his tailed beast's comments, without Hinata's help.

His chakra reached out and sensed Hinata's location before ripping a temporary hole into the time and space continuum in that exact spot. Focus, Naruto. Focus.

He felt Hinata move inside the worm hole and he pulled at her, drawing her towards him and creating a tunnel of sorts. Focus.

"Hey! Ho! What are you two up to out here?!" A loud voice interrupted his thoughts.

Damn it! He just lost focus. The tunnel closed. "WHA? WHO?"

Hiashi growled and turned to find Jiraiya standing behind him. Naruto opened his eyes and stared for moment. Unsure if he was seeing correctly. He rubbed his eyes again. "Master Jiraiya? Is that you? PERVY SAGE!"

Naruto hopped up on his feet. "What are you doing back? Why didn't you tell me? I have soooo much to tell you!"

"So I hear!" Jiraiya said jovially, moving past Hiashi and handing the flustered man the half empty cup of soup that he was carrying. He slapped Naruto on the back, playfully. "I understand you played a big role in recent events!"

"That's for sure! I mean come on, don't I always?" Naruto replied confidently. "Ohh… and I got my collaboration jutsu down with Gamatatsu, ya know, and Master Hiashi there -well he's finally letting me use all of that seal stuff he's been rambling about for months…"

Hiashi cleared his throat. "I hate to break up this touching reunion, but would you like to bring my daughter back? Or are you planning to leave her out in the woods all day?"

"Oh! Right!" Naruto plopped down on the ground again. "Let me show you what I can do Pervy Sage!"

"Ok! Let's see it! You can do it!" Jiriaya encouraged loudly.

Hiashi gave Jiraiya an evil eye and shoved the cup of soup back into his chest. The older man quieted down quickly, taking a step back. He whispered, "Sorry."

"Focus." Hiashi turned back to his student.

Naruto made hand seals and a scroll appeared in front of him. He reached in and removed the seal, holding it up to his face and pushing it out to the spot where Hinata was to appear. The seal opened up becoming a dazzling swirl of light. He focused his chakra through the binding seal again, locating Hinata's position and opening a small wormhole. He sensed her step inside and then he began to slowly pull her towards him as he created a tunnel.

Hinata appeared a few seconds later on the training field, stepping out of the seal. She was drenched in slimy bog water, but at least Naruto managed to call her the entire way this time.

"Yep! I did it!" Naruto ran over to Hinata and hugged her, ignoring how dirty she currently was. Hinata smiled, but she was reserved with her returned affections since her father was standing nearby. Naruto remembered the reason for her shyness and let her go quickly. "Umm, yeah... That was great wasn't it!"

Hiashi tapped Naruto on the shoulder like he always did when his student did something right. It was like he was checking a task off of a list. "Better. But you need to learn to focus even in the midst of distraction. If this was battle, you would have never gotten her here. And you may have dropped her in an even more dangerous position. You have to shut everything out -even the glorious return of your mentor."

Hiashi threw Jiraiya an annoyed look. "For now, you can use your shadow clones to create some time for focus. But eventually you will have to learn to multitask."

"Yeah sure, Master Hiashi."

Both Hiashi and Naruto turned and looked at Jiraiya now, awaiting his comments and approval.

Jiraiya stood staring back at them, unsure if he was allowed to speak yet. "Uh! Yeah! That was great kid. You're really becoming something. In fact it was so good. I think we should go celebrate!"

"Really? Ichiraku's?! I've really built up an appetite! All this hard work and all, ya know!"

"Sure kid, I'll treat. Let's go…"

Hiashi cleared his throat again. Both ninja stopped midstep and looked at him. "The lesson is NOT over! It's only ten am. Not time for lunch yet!"

Both Naruto and Jiriaya groaned. Their shoulders fell as they retreated back to their previous positions. Not able to help herself, Hinata giggled until her father turned his stern white eyes on her.

"Umm, excuse me, but Lady Tsunade has summoned us all to her office." Sakura appeared on the edge of the training field now.

Now Hiashi's shoulders fell. Not used to the lack of orderly discipline, HE could not work under these conditions. "I guess we'll just have to take this up again tomorrow."

* * *

"What is it? Don't just leave us hanging? Do you have something to talk to us about or what?!" Naruto looked back and forth between Tsunade and Jiraiya. Handing Tonton to Shizune, Tsunade stood with her arms crossed, staring daggers at the other sannin. She had asked him to bring Naruto and Sakura to her office earlier that morning, but apparently, he got side tracked and then completely forgot.

"Sometimes I wonder if you are going senile." Tsunade mumbled, sitting down in her desk chair. She looked cautiously at the others in the room. Naruto, Sakura, Hinata and Hiashi. "There is some intel..."

Tsunade looked over at Jiraiya who looked back at her gravely. She continued. "Orochimaru is dead."

Naruto and Sakura gasped. "What?"

"And Sasuke Uchiha is the one who killed him."

Naruto's blue eyes grew very large. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. That is the story that we have heard. And we believe it is true." Jiraiya responded, gravely.

Sakura looked down at her hands. She remembered Sasuke's face just a few months ago when they tried to force him to come with them. He was either done with his quest for revenge or he had traveled even further into darkness by taking his mentor's life. She was pretty certain it was latter. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Does that mean..."

Hinata reached her hand out and placed it on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto looked at her grave face and then at the tears in Sakura's eyes. He laughed. "What is everyone looking so down for! This is great! Of course Orochimaru would never break Sasuke! This has to mean Sasuke is coming back to the hidden leaf village, right?"

Jiraiya just looked back at Naruto and did not responded.

"Well? Pervy Sage! Right?"

"No. I'm afraid that doesn't seem to be in his plans." Jiraiya shook his head.

"WHAT! Why the hell not?" Naruto moved up to the hokage's desk and pounded his fist on the surface, sending that same pile of papers sliding onto the floor. Shizune sighed. "If Orochimaru is dead, he has no reason not to come back to the village. This is the only place that will accept him! Where does he plan to go?"

"He is still obsessed with vengeance. We believe his next move is to approach the Akatsuki. In order to kill his brother, Itachi."

"He's not over that yet!" Naruto threw up his hands. Then he turned back to Tsunade. "Well we have to get there first! Operation track down Akatsuki is still active isn't it?"

"Yes... that's true..." Tsunade responded, placing her chin on her hands. "What do you have in mind?"

"We need to hunt down Itachi Uchiha first -in order to draw out Sasuke."

Hiashi stepped up next to Naruto. "I agree with Naruto, milady. Targeting Itachi will not just draw out Sasuke, it will also draw out my nephew... or at least, the boy who we believe to be my nephew."

Tsunade sighed. "That's a huge order. There's a reason why we have never directly targeted Itachi before."

"What if we capture one member... any member and try to bring them in for Ibiki and Ikko to interrogate." Sakura suggested.

"We've been attempting that for months now. So far there has been no success." Tsunade responded. "They have beaten us or forced our hand at every turn."

"I'm afraid we won't be able to make them talk quite so easily... Even those who we have already encountered have been far too dangerous to just take into custody." Kakashi appeared at the door behind them.

"Kakashi. Glad you could join us." Tsunade commented.

Kakashi raised a hand in greeting and walked into the room.

"Ok? So what should we do then?" Naruto demanded.

"We need to be patient. To keep looking for Itachi." Kakashi put his hands in his pockets. "I have an angle that I'm trying to work, but it can't be rushed."

"What sort of angle?" Sakura asked curiously.

"One that will give us at least a general idea where to look for Itachi." Kakashi replied. He exchanged glances with Tsunade.

* * *

Masuku transformed half way between her favorite cat form and her latest human form. Short blonde hair, gray eyes, tabby cat ears and tail. She kept the nose and whiskers too. Granny cat always appreciated her gesture, though it rarely impressed Denka or Hina the local ninja cats. Only catnip worked on them.

"More tea, dear?" Granny cat puffed on her long pipe. Masuku first met Nekobaa, years ago, through one of Granny's two favorite boys. Of course at that time, Masuku had a totally different name and face, but Itachi advised her to always keep her cat ears and tail. Granny cat could never resist a cat, which is why she had so many. Masuku's half transformation would butter Nekobaa up, and make her easier to placate for supplies and information.

Masuku held up her hand. "No thank you." She was all business today.

"I want to know if Sasuke Uchiha has been through here?" Masuku asked seriously. "And who he was traveling with."

"You did not need to placate me for that, dear." Granny cat sighed. "You are Itachi's friend. You have been looking after Sasuke for awhile. Now you must make sure they don't kill each other. Sasuke was here with four others. A deformed Hyuga ninja with only one byakugan, an Uzumaki with extraordinary sensory abilities, one of the Hozuki brothers, and another large ninja they called, Jugo. He had a strange chakra -more like the natural chakra of a sage than the average shinobi."

Masuku checked the three newest members of Sasuke's team off in her mind. She knew a fair amount about each of them since they all worked for Orochimaru. Sasuke had put a lot of thought into the team that he planned to send after his brother. "Can you give me a list of everything they bought and do you know where they are heading next?"

* * *

The remaining seven members of the Akatsuki stood on the hands of the demonic statue of the outer path and watched as it accepted the latest offering.

Tobi wriggled, attempting to keep himself from nodding off. He also had to urinate. The process had required days of meditation and Tobi's discipline was not quite as high as the others. Finally the four tails was sealed. It was taking longer to seal each bijuu, as the number of shinobi in the organization was slowly dwindling.

"Ahh man! This is just horrible!" Tobi whined. "I thought being in this organization was going to be exciting but sealing these tailed beasts is just long and tiring. And we're not even half way through!"

"Quit complaining!" Deidara snapped at his partner. "We need to decide where to go next... humm."

"What do you mean? We don't get a break?" Tobi slapped his hands against his forehead. "I need a break, Deidara senpai!"

"NO! We need to get organized." Deidara replied thoughtfully. "We're going after the nine tails and Kakashi... or we're going after Sasuke..."

Deidara looked over at Itachi and Kissame accusingly. He sneered at that stupid and ugly black crow that Itachi always kept on his left shoulder. A dirty bird for a dirty Uchiha. "I've been here the shortest amount of time -other than that imbecile."

He gestured at Tobi. "And I've still managed to capture two tailed beasts already. It took you, two, three months to finally track down the four tails. And didn't you already attempt to take the nine tails three years ago?... AND you, Itachi, were the one who lost the three tails that I just managed to capture. One would think you people were trying to screw things up..."

"Deidara," Pain warned. "Reel in your ego. We are not keeping count..."

Incensed Tobi interrupted. "WHY would we go after Sasuke Uchiha? He's not a tailed beast! NO!NO!NO! WE should stay out of that. Let Itachi handle it."

Deidara scoffed. "I don't care about tailed beasts anymore! I've made my quota. I'm all about pay back now. They attacked me, trying to get the one tail back. That nine tails jinchuuriki had the nerve to think he could punch me and not be repaid. And Kakashi Hatake took my arm... Oh, he has it coming! And Sasuke Uchiha killed Orochimaru..."

He growled, "that was supposed to be my job."

"But... But..." Tobi stuttered.

"We're leaving! NOW! Get yourself together!" With that Deidara's essence disappeared.

* * *

Kakashi waited at his dining table and watched his opened window. Masuku had shown up to all of her training sessions with Hinata and Sakura like clock work, but she had scheduled them further apart than usual. And he had not seen the tabby cat since he returned from his latest mission.

Still every evening, he left his window open and waited around Cat's usual dinner time. She would show up again eventually. Sasuke had killed Orochimaru and was after Itachi. He surmised she had an interest in both of them, and she was not strong enough by herself to interfere with either one of them.

This night, the tabby cat did appear in the open window, strolling in as though her presence was common placed and should be expected. "Meow."

The cat hopped over to Kakashi's bed and took at seat, licking her paw.

"Masuku." Kakashi greeted his guest. "Transform so we can talk."

Cat began to shift and reshape, becoming larger and more hairless. Bright green eyes, long straight blue hair, a small round face with a cute little button nose. She hopped down from where she squat on the bed, straightening her green flak jacket and taking a seat at the table in front of Kakashi.

"There are whispers that Master Jiraiya and the Hokage have told Naruto, Sakura, and the Hyugas about Orochimaru's death and Sasuke's new team, Hebi." Masuku spoke first. "Sasuke has already killed Orochimaru and now he plans to kill Itachi. Do you know where Itachi is?"

"I was going to ask you that same question." Kakashi replied. He picked up his book and began to leaf through the pages. "What exactly did you get out of following us to the lake three months ago? It was not to stop Sasuke. Because apparently, you have been using Kabuto as an alias. You could have just advised Orochimaru not to send him... that would have been a lot easier."

"I have an interest in the Akatsuki too." Masuku replied her voice just as measured as Kakashi's voice. "And I knew the wild bijuu would draw out the information that I needed. Besides, the hokage doesn't trust me. She thinks I am working for Itachi Uchiha, and she is the one who has you keeping an eye on me."

"So? Are you working for Itachi Uchiha?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was not?" Masuku asked skeptically.

She leaned forward and set her elbows on the table. "Let's just say, there are several layers to that organization. There is the layer that you're interested in, and then there is the layer that I'm interested in. But I need you to see the second layer for yourself. It's the only way to ensure that you believe it... this time."

"So let's lay our cards on the table then."

"No. Not yet. You need to trust me more before I show all of my cards." Masuku replied, simply. "But I do have something for you..."

"Itachi and Kisame, his partner, have already captured and sealed the four tails. That's four tailed beast down. The plan has been to capture and seal the nine tails last. Apparently, Kurama will destroy the demon statue if he is not sealed in the right order and they don't want to provoke Konoha or any of our allies anymore than they already have. Itachi and Kisame have been assigned the task of capturing Naruto, and Itachi has wisely been advising Kisame to put it off for those reasons. Unfortunately, some of the others are getting restless. In particular, the two who took the three tails. I think you've met one of them a couple of times already and killed his first partner... Deidara of the stone. He has had a longstanding grudge against Orochimaru and is angry that Sasuke got to kill him first. He also seeks revenge on you and the nine tails jinchuuriki and wants to get to you, two, before Itachi and Kisame."

I have on good authority that Deidara and his partner have entered the Land of fire recently. They plan to target either Naruto, you, or Sasuke. As you can imagine, Itachi will not be far behind for several reasons."

Kakashi nodded understanding. "If your intel is sound... I may consider trusting you more. But what about the Hyuga boy? What do you know about him?"

Masuku sighed. "I know that he is important and you need to get him back before he falls into worse hands than Sasuke Uchiha."

She stood up and moved back over to the window, looking out. "If you are going after Sasuke and Sabui, you should know they are now running with a team of five. Sabui is more of an intel gatherer than anything else... but he is the best at what he does, better than me even. So I'm sure everything I'm telling you, Sasuke already knows. But Sasuke is use to traveling in teams of four and Sabui is of no use in a fight. So now there are three more members of the team... Suigetsu Hozuki. He was an experiment of Orochimaru. His body is made completely of water and conventional weapons and fighting don't work against him. Jugo. He is also an old experiment... He is subject zero for Orochimaru's curse mark. Every other shinobi, who served under the snake sannin, received an extract taken from Jugo's blood to create their curse mark. So you can imagine his strength when he activates his jutsu. Last is Karin Uzumaki. She is a sensory type -and an extraordinary one. She ran Orochimaru's southern hideout as a result of her abilities. She can sense chakra signatures from miles away so you will have to be careful how you approach them. She also has the ability to transfer her large amount of chakra to others. That and the fact Sasuke has now absorbed Orochimaru's powers along with his rapid healing ability, will make him even tougher to defeat. And you will have to defeat Sasuke and his team if you expect him to return with you to Konoha."

"Good to know." Kakashi replied, cryptically. Then he sat up and leaned forward with his elbows on the table. "By the way, how long have you been working for Orochimaru as Kabuto?"

"He is a sealed shadow clone." Masuku said. "Or he was... at one point. I terminated him after what happened three years ago during the chunin exam and took his place."

"But he was your clone." Kakashi pushed further.

"Orochimaru had been too quiet. Lord Third assigned me to infiltrate and investigate what his ex-student was up to. I used Kabuto to get inside, but I left him for too long. He began to gain his own ideas and became ambitious. Eventually, I lost control of him." Masuku climbed up on the window sill. "When I finally reabsorbed Kabuto, I took on all of his memories and his crimes. I'm trying to make it right now... though I know I never can."

Kakashi watched as Masuku disappeared out of his window. He knew a little about sealed shadow clones and only a few shinobi were able to create them.


	12. Jiriaya's Legacy & Itachi's Secret

"What is that huge explosion?!" White Zetsu asked, innocently.

"It's that fool Deidara. He's blown himself up." Black Zetsu answered his other half in a gruff voice.

"Oh no! What about Tobi?" White zetsu responded, alarmed.

"He's dead. He probably got caught up in the blast range." Black zetsu replied, dispassionately. Somehow, he was not surprised.

The two creatures were linked as one inside of the green plant like structure that surrounded them. As the light from the enormous explosion receded, the two zestsus sunk back underground. There was nothing else to see here.

* * *

Pakkun stared wide eyes at the huge explosion. "What is it, Kakashi?"

Under orders from the hokage, Kakashi had set up another tracking team to search for any traces of Deidara and his partner, Tobi, or Sasuke and his team, Hebi, or Itachi and his partner, Kisame, within the Land of Fire. He had chosen team seven and team eight for this mission, and paired a ninken with each member, with the exception of Kiba and himself who already had K9 tracking abilities and Naruto who was a potential target. Naruto was paired with Yamato, Hinata, and the largest ninken who Kakashi associated with. Keeping mostly in pairs of two would throw off Sasuke's sensory ninja and keep her from distinguishing them from the Akatsuki.

"It's confirmation that Masuku's intel was good." Kakashi responded. "From the feel of that chakra, it's definitely that Akatsuki, Deidara."

* * *

Naruto moved closer to Hinata after they stopped to rest. It was twilight and the stars were starting to appear like shinny dots of light against the darkening sky. The longer they had been sealed, the easier it was for Naruto to sense Hinata's change in moods. Because she was so reserved, she never expressed any of what was churning around in her mind openly. But Naruto could feel the strain of her jumble of tangled thoughts. "So your cousin maybe alive and traveling with Sasuke, huh?"

Hinata looked up at him and nodded quietly.

Naruto smiled awkwardly, uncertain if Hinata thought this was a good or a bad turn of events. He could feel her worry, but he had no details of what she was worried about. They always fell back into their old pattern of Naruto talking and Hinata listening. The other way around was new territory for both of them. Sometimes, he wished the binding seal provided telepathy too. "We're happy about this… aren't we?"

Hinata looked away, quickly. After all these months, she was still not use to the intimacy that their bond now provided. She had spent so much of her life hiding everything, she was not sure how to handle being totally exposed. "I never knew Neji. He went missing before I was born. I remember my father and my grandfather and uncle being sad all of the time when I was little. And then my uncle was killed… and my mother died giving birth to Hanabi. It's only gotten better in the last few years. I just don't want my family to go back to that dark place again. It felt very lonely there…"

Shaking her head, Hinata blushed and smiled up at Naruto. Again, falling back into the comfort of old patterns, she tried to clean up what she just spilled. "But don't worry about me. We're concentrating on finding Sasuke and Neji and bringing them home, right?"

"Right." Naruto smiled back, confidently. Then he took her hand, squeezing it slightly. "But… you'll never have to be alone again. We're partners. You always have me, ya know."

"I know." Hinata laced her fingers through Naruto's fingers and held tight.

Then an enormous flash appeared in front of them, drawing the couple's attention.

Hinata looked up as the bright white light appeared above the line of trees on the horizon. "What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know. But, I don't like it." Naruto replied shielding his eyes against the light. "Come on, let's check it out."

Appearing behind them, Yamato nodded. "Good idea."

* * *

"Sasuke? Sasuke?" Karin began to panic. She made a hand seal and focused. There was nothing but emptiness. And when Karin's senses hit a dead end, that always meant the target was dead. "I can't feel Sasuke's chakra at all. And that blast... it was right…"

"At our rendezvous point." Sabui finished for Karin as he approached her from behind.

Karin jumped in surprise and clutched at her chest. "Huh! You scared me. What are you doing here?"

"Sasuke wanted me to make sure you were actually doing your job and not daydreaming and tracking him." Sabui replied insolently.

"Humph! Daydreaming about Sasuke? What do you take me for?" Karin yelled down at Sabui with her hands on her hips.

Sabui ignored her and looked at the scroll that he had been carrying on his belt again. The serpent that had appeared on its side, disappeared again after the blast. "We need to summon Manda."

"What? Manda? Orochimaru's summoning animal?"

"Yeah. Sasuke will have used him to save himself. His last resort plan was to hide himself inside of Manda before the snake disappeared back to his home. Once the serpent disappears on the scroll, I have to re-summon him." Sabui poured a drop of Sasuke's blood on the summoning scroll and made some hand seals before slamming his palm down.

The enormous snake appeared in front of them. Manda looked terrible. His body was ripped to shreds from head to tail. Usually hissing and snapping in anger whenever he was summoned, the ornery snake was eerily quiet and still.

"Well, a summoning snake is no tailed beast." Sabui commented as they watch Manda's eyes change from hypnotized and crimson back to their normal black and green color. "Your sharingan worked this time, I see, Senpai."

Sasuke drug himself out of Manda's mouth as the snake groaned in death. Manda collapsed and hissed in a weak voice, "How dare you… you little brat… you made me sacrifice myself with your eyes… those damn eyes…"

"Yeah. It worked… but just barely." Sasuke collapsed on the ground too, succumbing to his own injuries. "That Akatsuki was a lot stronger than expected. He had more tricks up his sleeve than just the few Sabui was able to uncover."

Jugo and Suigetsu appeared then, too. Suigetsu looked Sasuke over and made a face. "Well you look terrible, Sasuke."

"He does not!" Karin snapped.

"Oh really?" Suigetsu smirked at the red headed young woman. "How does he look to you Karin?"

All four of her comrades looked at Karin, waiting for her answer. Flustered, she stammered, "Well.. well how pathetic! I expected more from the ninja who killed Orochimaru!"

"Orochimaru was dying already." Sasuke grumbled, falling face first on to the ground. Jugo caught him before he completely smashed his face.

"We need to get you somewhere, where you can rest."

* * *

Jiraiya looked over at Tsunade as they sat together on a bench outside of the closest bar to the academy. She reeked of alcohol, but was finally relaxed enough to hear what he needed to tell her. "You are a terrible drunk, Tsunade."

She returned the look and hiccuped. With a slight slur, she said, "What do you have to tell me, Jiraiya? You always take me drinking when you want to tell me something that I don't want to hear."

"You remember that, huh?" Jiriaya asked jovially, staring off into space sentimentally. "It was never hard to get some sake into you."

"Quit stalling! What do you want?" Tsunade responded curtly.

"I've received information that the leader of the Akatskui is holed up in the Land of Rain." Jiraiya answered, plainly.

"The Land of Rain? Why there? That place has been in ruins and chaos for decades." Tsunade scoffed. "Instead of being a neutral zone between the five great nations, it's been nothing but a desolate battle ground… It's the place where shinobi go to die…"

Tsunade paused. Her mind cleared abruptly. "You aren't thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"I plan to infiltrate the Land of Rain. It's the only way to identify the leader and flush him out."

"That's ridiculous." Tsunade shook her head and scowled. "Even if you get inside the borders, it will be near impossible to get back out."

"I have my ways." Jiraiya had only come to Tsunade because of formality. She was the hokage, and he was infiltrating a foreign land hostile to Konoha. But he had already determined that he was going on this mission. He covered his frustration by saying, sarcastically. "I appreciate your lack of confidence in me."

"It's not lack of confidence. It's memories of the last time we went there… WE, all three sannin, almost died. If this leader has been able to maintain in Hanzo the salamander's territory… he has to be formidable." Tsunade was worried. "There has to be another way…"

"There is no other way." Jiraiya interrupted. "Besides, I'm old… Well, you're old too, but you're the hokage, so it has to be me."

Tsunade frowned and narrowed her eyes at him. Jiraiya frowned back and narrowed his eyes at her. "Flat as a board Tsunade, are you worried about me? You've been nothing but a harpy. Rejecting every one of my advances. Always cold and fridged. And now you want to worry? What are you going to do about it? Hit me? Shove your enormous fake bosom in my face and the send me off with nothing to show for it?!"

Hurt entered Tsunami's eyes, but she just looked away and did not respond. He was trying to distract her. To make her angry, so this parting of two old friends was easier.

"I tell you what?" Jiriaya's voice became lighter and Tsunade turned back to him. "Let's make a bet! You bet everything that I'll die on this mission."

"What?" Tsunade looked alarmed.

Jiraiya chuckled, "You've never won a bet in your life, after all."

Tsunade nodded, gravely. She reached her hand out and placed it on top of his hand. "Just come back so you can collect."

* * *

"Kurama! Kurama!" Hinata called into the darkness. The nine tailed fox had begun to place himself deeper and deeper into the confines of Minato's broken seal. As Naruto became stronger, gaining more of his own control and the ability to block out the presence of the squatter in his body, Kurama turned to sulking.

And as Naruto became more resistant to Kurama's moods, Hinata became more sensitive through the binding seal. She started to visit him more often to attempt to pull him out of his funk. Her mind was already heavy and his bad mood was starting to affect her mood too. But it was not easy dealing with a millennia old creature. Kurama was not easily swayed. Not even by the amount of power and skill that his jinchuuriki had been able to amass in less than a year.

One fiery eye appeared out of the darkness as Hinata approached him. "Can we talk?"

"I'm listening byakugan princess." Kurama growled back not bothering to move an inch or even open the other eye.

"I know you're still not too keen on helping Naruto but he is about to face a very powerful ninja... more powerful than any of the others we have fought before..." Hinata sat down in front of Kurama's snout. "I'm scared something bad is going to happen."

Now Kurama moved his head, sniffing at the air. An odd and wily smile formed at the corner of his mouth for a second. "It's another Uchiha... this one is older and stronger."

Kurama sniffed again and then the smile faded. He lay his head back down on his paw, bored. "I sense nothing to worry about."

Hinata frowned. "What do you mean?"

"This one is not like the other one. There is no darkness there -he won't hurt Naruto." Kurama replied, closing his eyes again.

For a second, Hinata wondered if this was a trick to get out of helping her. But Kurama had never lied to her before and he never minced words. If he did not want to help, he would just say so. She whispered to herself. "How can that be..."

Hinata felt a sharp pain on the side of her head and she was falling. One of Naruto's clones caught her before she hit the ground after falling out of the tree branches above.

"You're here to capture me?" Naruto demanded.

"Right now I'm only here to talk to you." Itachi's voice traveled from his position in the middle of the clearing. He had taken out four of Naruto's clones before they even came out from behind the trees and then he knocked Hinata down from the branches above with the blunt end of one of his kunai.

As the clone took Hinata behind another tree, the real Naruto stepped out of hiding. "Well if you just wanted to talk, what you'd do that for?! You expect me to trust anything that comes out of your mouth!? After what you did to Sasuke and your own clan!?"

"Shouldn't you be running?" Itachi asked. His face was expressionless and his voice gave nothing away. "Since you believe I'm here to capture you."

"No way am I running!" Naruto growled. "Just leave Hinata out of this, but I plan to capture you. Because if I capture you, I get to see Sasuke."

"Why are you so obsessed with my brother? He's just a rogue ninja, after all."

"You may be his blood but he's been more of a brother to me than you ever were to him!" Naruto yelled, his eyes fiercely staring down at the feet of the Uchiha in front of him. He was becoming even angrier because he could not meet Itachi's red eyes. There was a slight curl to the edge of Itachi's mouth in response to Naruto's answer.

Naruto growled in frustration and then, took off at his opponent. Itachi waved his hand and an enormous flock of crows appeared from behind him. The black birds squawked and flapped their wings, surrounding Naruto in a thick black cloud and lifting him up off of the ground.

"You were already under my genjutsu from the moment you spotted me and the girl was knocked down from the tree."

Despite the throbbing on the side of her head, Hinata concentrated through the binding seal, cutting the flow of Naruto's chakra. She kept her eyes completely averted from Itachi to prevent from falling into the illusion, herself. But this was not enough. This was different than with the mist or with Kuranei and Masuku. She felt a strong almost solidly resistant presence thwart her attempts to control Naruto's chakra, and then she started to feel herself getting pulled into the genjutsu.

"Your sensei has taught you well Hinata Hyuga." Itachi's voice sound close, like he was inside of her mind. She could feel him inside of the binding seal. "But I know all of her tricks. She learned them from me."

"I'll say it again. I only came to talk." Itachi's voice was now again coming from his position in the clearing. He released Naruto and Hinata then. Both of them collapsing in exhaustion.

Naruto frowned up at Itachi. "I thought you said you weren't after me? And I told you to leave Hinata out of this! What is this about anyway?"

"I'm going now." Itachi replied without answering any of Naruto's questions. "I have an important matter to attend to."

He dissolved into a flock of crows. It was a shadow clone.

"If that was a shadow clone, I hate to see what the real Itachi can do." Naruto mumbled as he moved towards Hinata to make sure she was ok. "That was strange. What was that about?"

Hinata shook her head. "I don't know, but Kurama said he could not feel any darkness inside of Itachi."

"Ya think the fox is always right when it comes to these things? His senses could be off." Naruto frowned. It made no sense. Itachi had always been enemy number one. He had killed an entire clan, and had almost killed Kakashi and his brother three years ago. How was it possible that Kurama felt nothing dark inside of him? "Maybe Itachi is just that powerful that he can even disguise his dark intensions from Kurama."

"I don't know. But he wasn't wrong about Itachi not intending to hurt us." Hinata replied. Itachi seemed more curious than aggressive towards them. She even thought he might have grinned after Naruto called Sasuke his brother.

Kiba appeared with Akumaru from the trees. "Damn! No luck with this scent either."

Earlier, the group had converged on the spot where Deidara's huge explosion appeared. There was nothing but a crater left but Sasuke's scent was distinctive among the destruction. There were four other scents present besides Deidara's scent. One of the four Kiba and Kakashi recognized from their previous tracking mission.

"It must be the Hyuga boy." Kakashi concluded. Sasuke's scent went cold at the location of the explosion but the Hyuga ninja's scent continued on towards a nearby town. Sasuke scent was picked up again right out side of the town.

"He must have transported himself out of the blast of the explosion." Yamato suggested. His suggestion was soon confirmed when they came across Manda's enormous corpse abandoned not far from where Sasuke's scent was picked up again.

"The scent is getting stronger which means we are close." Kakashi informed the others. "We need to split up again in pairs of two before we're caught by the sensory ninja."

However they were sensed long before they split into pairs of two. Sasuke's group covered their scent quickly and skillfully by sending birds carrying shreds of their clothes in several different directions. That was when Hinata and Naruto stumbled into Itachi.

"You guys ok?" Kiba looked Hinata and Naruto over as they sat next to each other looking dazed and confused,

"Huh? yeah." Naruto replied only half listening.

The rest of the group appeared behind Kiba. Kakashi also looked suspiciously at the two young ninja. "Did something happen to you two?"

"Wha? No." Naruto lied quickly before Hinata could reply. He looked over at her, but she was looking down at her hands. She sensed his hesitation to share their strange encounter with Itachi, but she was also a terrible liar. "We just stopped a second to rest. We're good. Come on, let's keep searching these scents."

* * *

Jiraiya felt the blood drain from his body in a massive hemorrhage, taking his life with it. His left arm was ripped from its socket. His throat had been crushed, and five metal rods staked through his body pinning him to the ground.

From somewhere distant, Fukasaku called to him. "Jiraiya boy! Don't die!"

He could feel the five remaining Pains standing over him watching him die. It had taken everything he had just to defeat one of the six Pains and to flush out the true identity of the Akatsuki leader. Now he would die before he could relay the intel back to Konoha. He used what was left of his energy just to take the next breath. Then he felt himself pass out. He saw his entire life flash before his eyes in that next second. All of his failures... unable to stop his friend from falling into darkness, unable to protect either his mentor or student from death, unable to win the heart of the one woman who he had loved. But he had always believed before the end, he would accomplish one deed that would outweigh all of his failures. To defeat Pain and stop the Akatsuki could have been that deed... but it seemed that he was about to fail this too.

Then one memory came into view. The day that Minato and Kushina told him that they were having a son, and they planned to name him, Naruto, after the main character in Jiraiya's book. They hoped that their son would take on his endless determination and the guts to never give up even in the face of impossible circumstance. And Jiraiya realized then that this hope had come true. Because that unbreakable spirit was the legacy that he, Jiraiya, had left to the world in the form of his student.

He had one more choice to make, and he was making it now. His heart started to pump again, pushing enough of the remaining blood to his brain to regain consciousness. He pushed himself up, breaking the seal of the stakes that held him to the ground.

"Jiraiya Boy! I knew you'd never give up!" Fukasaku cheered proudly. The old green toad met eyes with Jiraiya. "Yes. Right."

Fukasaku hopped down from Jiraiya's shoulder and threw off his cloak. He winced as Jiraiya used the last seconds of his life to write some coded numbers on the toad's back.


	13. Sasuke, Itachi, & The Man In The Mask

Kisame looked over at his partner, as they walked silently together through the eastern woods in the Land of Fire, and narrowed his eyes. The day was peaceful. A bright blue sky... with small puffs of cumulus clouds. Not too hot and not too cold. The humidity was a bit much for the normal man, but for Kisame, who loved a nice damp day, it was just perfect. Still... there was something off and the shark man did not like the noticeable undercurrent of tension that he sensed. Itachi had been hatching something big ever since that large explosion appeared west of their position.

So far the ugly black crow, who sometimes sat on Itachi's shoulder, had flown off and returned twice. It was the most activity that Kisame had seen from the man in months. Something was a foot.

"Now you know I usually mind my own business, but you appear uncharacteristically affected today, Itachi. Would you like to fill me in?" Kisame asked switching his large shark skin sword from one shoulder to the other.

"I'm searching for my brother." Itachi replied.

"Are you sure he didn't die in that explosion with Tobi and Deidara?" Kisame asked skeptically.

"He's alive." Itachi replied in his same unaffected voice. "My crow has caught sight of the leaf ninja team tracking his scent from the explosion site. He must have used Orochimaru's summoning snake to escape the blast."

"Well… that's something." Kisame sighed. "What do you plan to do about it then? He has to be looking for you too... after all."

"I've already set things in motion." Itachi sent the crow flying again. "I will meet Sasuke at the old Uchiha hide out. I just need you to make sure those ninja, he is traveling with, do not interfere."

* * *

Three Narutos converged on a clearing, frowning at each other in frustration. "Nothing but dead ends!"

Two of them held onto a large black crow. It took two clones just to keep hold of the bird as it struggled in their hands, flapping its wings and squawking loudly. Nasty ornery creature. He removed the cloth from the bird's leg and then set it free. The bird squawked a loud and angry retort before flying up above him and landing in the tree branches.

"They've been one step ahead of us this entire time." One of the clones growled. "That sensory ninja with Sasuke is nothing but a pain in the butt!"

"Agreed." The other two Narutos nodded at each other.

"I can tell you where to find him." A voice drifted down from the tree branches.

In response, all three Narutos turned, kunais sliding into hands, ready to strike at any attackers.

"Who are you?!" The clones demanded in unison, looking up at a woman with long blond hair worn in ringlets contained in a side ponytail and bright violet eyes standing above them in the tree. She had on a ninja headband with a leaf forehead protector and a jonin's flak jacket but he had never seen her face before.

The woman dropped agily to the ground. Naruto was not sure how she got so close without him noticing. "I'm a friend, Naruto. Your girlfriend and your teammate like to call me, sensei."

The Naruto clones put down their kunais and rubbed the backs of their heads. "Masuku sensei? Is that you? What are you doing out here?"

Masuku ignored Naruto's question and stated again. "I can tell you where to find Sasuke."

"Ok?" Naruto prompted.

"He just left the Akatsuki's hideout. It lies east of here. He is headed towards the old Uchiha hideout. Kakashi will know how to get there."

Narrowing his eyes at her, the younger ninja asked, suspiciously. "How do you know all of this? We've been looking for them for hours without any luck."

"I have ways of getting around sensory ninjas." Masuku stated plainly. "Oh… and hurry!"

The Narutos watched as Masuku turned back into the large black crow and flew away. They looked at each other. "Come on, let's get back to the original."

* * *

Sasuke flipped over Itachi, and swung his sword. It clang as it met the kunai that appeared in Itachi's hand. Itachi blocked Sasuke's left hook, spun, and elbowed Sasuke in the back of the head, knocking him forward with a jolt. Itachi appeared almost instantly at Sasuke's side, chopping his left hand into Sasuke's throat.

"Psssh!" The wind was knocked from Sasuke and he grabbed at his bruised windpipe.

Itachi hooked his brother's collar and flipped him over. Sasuke let go of his sword as it flew up, stabbing deep into the ceiling and just barely caught himself before he was slammed face first into the hard ground. Sliding away, he activated his chidori sharp spear at the same time, slicing through Itachi's body.

He held Itachi skewered at the end of his jutsu. This was already the third time that he had mortally wounded his brother. Itachi coughed up blood, choking on his own words. He said, "You still… have not… delivered a fatal blow… Brother."

"You still have not told me what I want to know." Sasuke sneered as Itachi dissolved into a flock of crows. Again the older Uchiha brother sat comfortably in the ancient Uchiha leader's seat just feet away from the illusion. They were deep inside of the underground vault of the old Uchiha hideout. This structure was from the elder days, before Konohagakure existed and their clan still lived separate, as a battle clan. "Another genjutsu, huh?"

"Give up. Your eyes are not strong enough to beat mine, Sasuke. Come back after you've killed your best friend and activated your mangekyo... Naruto is his name, isn't?" Itachi leaned his chin on his propped up hand, resting it there. He narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. "You still can't do it. Can you?"

"Naruto's death is a waste of my time. My hatred for you is strong enough alone. And the only one, I need to kill is you." Sasuke jabbed a finger in Itachi's direction, pointing at something beyond the wooden chair. His sword plunged through the back of the chair and into his brother's chest. Itachi began to cough up blood again. Sasuke stabbed deeper. "You told me that night in the street… after you massacred our entire clan… that the key to the sharingan's ultimate power lay within a tailed beast. Tell me what you meant!"

From behind him, an uninjured Itachi tapped Sasuke's shoulder and leaned over to whisper, "you have already felt the draw of the power of the tailed beast. The need to possess that massive chakra. When you finally receive your mangekyo, you will truly hunger for it."

Sasuke swung his fist back and behind him. The chair disappeared and released his sword. His fist went through the Itachi, who stood right behind him, as the real Itachi appeared further away, still sitting comfortably in the Uchiha leader's seat. "This is your mangekyo sharingan, isn't it?!"

Itachi nodded, confirmation. "You need these eyes if you have any chance of defeating me."

"You also told me that night that there have been many who possessed those eyes, but only two who have kept their sight." Sasuke stood up and sheathed his sword. "You and who else?"

"You need to learn that things are not always how they appear, Brother." Itachi replied. "I don't need my sight to use genjutsu."

Sasuke frowned. Was Itachi saying that he had defeated Sasuke not once but four times while he was already blind? His arrogance baulked. There was no way. "Then who are the two?"

"There is a reason no one has attempted to achieve the mangekyo sharingan since before the Uchiha left this fort and settled in the village hidden in the leaves. Only two have managed to keep their sight. Those who have met a tailed beast and been exposed to its chakra. The sealing of their mangeyko was reversed. Once over a hundred years ago when Madara used Kurama to fight Hashirama. Then again sixteen years ago when the nine tailed beast was sealed inside of Naruto. It's a secret that has long been known to only one shinobi. Madara Uchiha."

"This Madara... he has been dead for decades… and who is this other shinobi? I plan to kill him after I kill you. He was a coconspirator in the massacre, wasn't he? Even you could not have defeated the Uchiha police force without help."

"It's true. There is another Uchiha who conspired in the massacre of our clan. But Madara lives. And one can sometimes appear to be two." Itachi replied. "Death is relative and not absolute in this world."

"You're speaking in code." Sasuke stated, irritated.

"During his lifetime, Madara was able to achieve one of the four sage modes… hawk, owl, snake, toad. The use of senjutsu put off the complete sealing of his mangekyo for years and allowed him to strengthen his other senses. During this time, he took control of the nine tailed beast and he discovered that his sight returned to him. But once he lost the battle and Kurama to Hashirama, he realized his sage abilities had greatly weakened in exchange for the full possession of the mangekyo. But even so, he was still a sage. And there are certain states a sage can transition through. One of them is death. Some, who achieve a sage's rebirth, remain within one of the four dimensions awaiting the return of the sage of six path's chakra to summon them back to the human realm. But those, who are not strong enough -whose wills are deemed weak or corrupt or not worthy of their sage, are rejected. They are reborn as mortals in this realm to relive their lives again."

"So your saying that Madara was reborn in this world…"

"About thirty years ago." Itachi finished for Sasuke. "He somehow regained the memories of his past life about seventeen years ago during the Third war. He is the one who led me to the Akatsuki. His anger towards Konoha... towards this world... has only grown since his return. He feels the Uchihas betrayed him by staying united with the village and not following him in his fight against Hashirama. It was easy to convince him to help. He is a bitter old man with delusions of grandeur. So now… you know."

"And now... you will die!" Sasuke glared at Itachi, the vile retort dripping from his lips like snake venom.

* * *

"Really, guys? Eight against one! So unfair!" The man in the orange spiral mask stood in front of konoha's entire tracking team on a tree branch, whining.

"Look at his robes. He's an Akatsuki." Kakashi whispered to Yamato. "He must be Deidara's new partner... Masuku mentioned him, but we have no intel on his name or any of his skills."

Yamato frowned. "You would think he would have been in the blast zone, if he was Deidara's partner."

"Maybe they split up." Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder and warned. "Be careful, we don't know what he is capable of."

"I don't care what he is capable of!" Naruto replied angrily. "He just needs to move out of the way so we can get to Sasuke."

They had already tried to go around the Akatsuki, but he seemed to be able to be everywhere at once. Even with eight of them present, he had blocked their movements at every turn. Then when they attempted to go on the offense to take him out, he appeared to be able to dodge every blow without even moving an inch.

"It's not a genjutsu." Hinata stated. She scanned the area around them with her byakugan. "There is no other chakra around to indicate a ninja who might be producing an illusion."

"Well, if it's not an illusion, how is he doing this?" Kiba demanded. They had already tried using Shino's insects to encase the ninja and trap him, but the escape artist some how managed to even escape the insects. "I've seen Shino's insects take down much more powerful ninja than this before! This is completely impossible."

"I told Deidara Senpai and I'll tell you now. I'm a highly skilled and formidable ninja!" The masked man put his hands on his hips. Then he continued, in a dramatically depressed voice. "Unfortunately, he never believed me... and now he is in a million bloody pieces."

"Poor pathetic senpai. If only he listened to the truth." The man moaned and plopped down to sit on the branch swinging his legs over the side. Then he warned the team of ninja beneath him in an oddly chipper voice, "Don't end up like him!"

He rested his chin on an arm propped up on one knee, and started to sing in a very low and sad voice. "Senpai, senpai, senpai. We were going on a trip..."

"RASENGAN!" Naruto suddenly appeared above the man, driving his jutsu down into the depressed Akatsuki sitting on the tree branch. The powerful blow went right through the man, along with Naruto's arm, and then Naruto's entire body. He found himself falling out of the tree, just barely catching himself before he hit the ground. The man ignored him, continuing to sing his sad song. "...I no longer want to skip... or do a double flip... not even dango with chocolate chips..." He moaned. "Ohhhh senpai!"

Hinata had moved up into the tree branches above the man in order to get a vantage point with full view of their opponent. Naruto tapped into her byakugan as he too positioned himself above, using one of his clones on the ground as a distraction. Naruto watched himself go right through the man in the mask as he attempted his rasengan. And there was no doubt. Kiba was right. It was impossible.

As he stood up from the ground, he grumbled, shaking his head. "I don't get it. It's like he is removing parts of his body to dodge all of our attacks, allowing us to pass right through. Either that or he's a ghost."

"You guys better get ready for my... hidden jutsu!" The mask man suddenly swung over the edge of the tree branch to hang upside down by his feet, making hand seals.

"Watch out!" Kakashi warned the others. The group took a step back and braced for an attack.

"Frilled neck lizard!" The masked man's robes dropped down around his head. The leaf shinobi stood on guard and waited, but nothing else happened. The strange man scratched his head and explained, embarrassed, "Yeah... right. That's all that jutsu does."

"You idiot! You're just wasting our time!" Naruto yelled. He rang his fist in the air at the masked man. This fight had gone on about forty five minutes longer than his patience could take. "Just move it!"

Tobi swung himself back up on the tree branch and watched as Black and White Zetsu rose out of the surface. "Well?"

The plant like structure that surrounded the Zetsus opened to reveal the creatures inside. "It's over. Sasuke triumphed in the battle. Itachi Uchiha is now dead."

"What! I don't believe it! How terrible!" Tobi jumped back, raising his hands in the air dramatically. "What are we going to do?"

Then he stopped and looked directly at Kakashi. "Just kidding... It's just as I expected." His voice morphed, becoming deeper and more ominous.

Sakura looked down at the ground. Things had just gone from bad to worse. Sasuke had killed his mentor and now he had killed his brother. Was there anything left inside of him to save? "Sasuke killed him."

"Sasuke is down now, too." White Zetsu informed them. "He is in pretty bad shape."

"Hey you up there! Spiky aloe guy! You better not get in our way too!" Naruto thrust a finger in the direction of the Zetsus and yelled.

"What do you mean by aloe?" White Zetsu took offense. Black Zetsu growled. "Ignore him. He is of no consequence."

As the Zetsus sunk back into the tree branch, disappearing, Kakashi and Tobi stood, staring each other down. With his sharingan uncovered, Kakashi could see the details of the other man's mask. Tobi's right eye hole exposed the only part of his face that was visible. And with his sharingan, Kakashi could see the stranger's sharingan deep within the mask's right eye hole.

Hinata had seen the eye as well. She said, "Kakashi Sensei... he has a sharingan."

"I know." Kakashi mumbled, confused. There was another living Uchiha. Was this the second layer that Masuku spoke of? "Who is he?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." Tobi sneered from behind his mask. He disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Sasuke lay on the ground bleeding next to his brother's body. The sky was empty. Not a single cloud was present now, causing the sky's blueness to become even bluer. It was as if the thunderstorm that he created during their battle had erased everything from the atmsophere. Just as he had just erased the life from his older brother's body.

Then a black bird appeared like a dot in the sky, circling above them. It passed once... twice... three times before it landed beside him and hopped on top of Itachi's body. He turned his head towards it. Was it here to scavenge for the dead? He attempted to raise a hand to shoo it away, but was too weak to do anything but twitch. His vision faded as the crow turned one of its eyes on him and squawked. His last thought was that it was strange for a bird to appear so soon after that storm.

The crow's black feathers shifted and reshaped, taking on the form of a small thin man in a cloak. Kabuto adjusted his glasses and leaned over Itachi feeling for a pulse. It was thin and thready, but it was still there. He moved over to Sasuke, who was now unconscious, and examined him. The younger Uchiha had several severe injuries, but he would live. Sighing, Kabuto opened Itachi's eyes and removed them. He did the same for Sasuke, exchanging the brother's eyes as quickly as possible.

Finishing his work, Kabuto sat back and admired his job. He could not help but be proud of his technique with this complicated transplant. The sealed shadow clone's years of medical ninjutsu training had definitely come in handy lately, because now he was going to have to try to save a dead man. Raring up for the impossible task ahead of him, he picked up the older Uchiha brother and slung him over his shoulders in a fireman's hold.

"Humph!" Kabuto was not made for this type of work. This was the second time that he had to lug around a ninja bigger than himself. He took off quickly. A report of this battle should have reached dangerous ears by now. He had to get out of sight before he was spotted.

Kabuto flew through the eastern wood back in the direction of Konoha. He was headed towards a cave, which had not been used by anyone else for more than a decade and a half. He often used this place as headquarters, knowing it was remote enough that no one would come that direction. The history of the area would also prevent wanderers from coming too close. No one knew the entire story, but everyone knew two dead and decaying bodies were found here about sixteen years ago. The place was considered haunted. It gave enough of a wide berth for an injured rogue ninja to recover in peace.

Kabuto lay Itachi's body down on the cave's ground amongst the medical equipment that Masuku had been able to sneak out of Konoha over the last few months. Throwing off the cloak, the ninja transformed again retaking the shape of a woman. This time she had short black hair with shaggy bangs that hung in her face and fierce black eyes.

Then Masuku set to work trying to bring Itachi back. She had done what he wanted and transplanted his mangekyo sharingan in Sasuke. He told her that he would prevent his death just long enough to give her time to take his eyes. But he had instructed her to do the transplantation in secret, so no one, not even Sasuke, knew about the procedure. Afterwards, she was to leave him to die.

Itachi was going to be pissed, if she was able to save him. He had worked so hard to get himself killed, after all. She had never defied any of his orders before. It was almost as if she could not resist doing whatever he required of her. But she was so completely opposed to his decision to die at his younger brother's hands that she was able to resist this command. He would be too weak to do anything about it for awhile, and by then, she hoped to convince him that her way was better.

Though he would never admit she was right out loud, she had figured out the truth about Itachi a long time ago. If nothing else, Masuku was the best at uncovering other people's deepest secrets. And after pretending to be Itachi's summoning crow for years, she knew most of his secrets.

Her ex-mentor was a good man, and therefore she could not let him die. After he defeated the three tail's jinchuuriki in a battle that killed his first partner four years ago, Itachi secretly took control of Isubo and stashed the bijuu at the bottom of the lake, in order to keep him out of the hands of the Akatsuki. He had also risked his life and almost blown his cover several times, actively keeping the Akatsuki away from Konoha and Naruto. Everything else he did was to protect his brother.

She also knew she would need Itachi to defeat the masked man. Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha. Those were the four main players in this game. She was not certain yet, how this would come together. How all four of them would work together on the same side. But after watching Naruto and his undying optimism and determination for months, she concluded he was the key.

* * *

Sasuke woke up in a dimly lit room. He was bandaged and lay on soft mat. He winced against the pain as he sat up to look around. There was someone standing in darkness at the far corner of the room but he could not completely make out who it was. He demanded, "Whose there?"

"Ah. So you're finally awake." The figure moved out of the shadows. It was a tall man with a orange spiral mask and one eye hole on the right side.

"Who are you?"

"I've been watching you for a long time, Sasuke. You killed my partner Deidara not too long ago. And I once worked with your brother... before you killed him too. But don't worry. We are not enemies. I merely brought you here to heal your injuries and to tell you something important." The masked man paused and examined the impassive look of Sasuke's face. "I can see you are not interested in what I have to say at all. Maybe if I put it another way, you will want to listen. It's about Itachi Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, but curiosity entered the black orbs. The man smiled behind his mask. "That's right. You think you know everything about your older brother, but you know nothing."

The man put his hand on his mask, ready to remove it. "Well. Let me start with a simple introduction. Like you Sasuke, I am a survivor of the Uchiha clan, and one, who knows the truth about Itachi Uchiha."

He removed his mask, revealing his sharingan. At the same moment, Itachi's sharingan, now in Sasuke's eyes, activated. The mangekyo sharingan spun, forming its pinwheel in his left eye as it bled.

"AH! NO! IT CAN'T..." The masked man screamed as he caught on fire with the black flames of the amaterasu. He fell back into the shadows dropping his mask. His screams of pain continued as the vicious sound of the flames raged on. Then suddenly there was silence. As if the man and the flames were sucked into a vacuum of nothingness.

"What was that?" Sasuke grabbed at his eye. The pain was close to unbearable after using his mangekyo for the first time. Then he heard the foot steps coming from the shadows. He looked up as the man appeared placing his mask back on his face.

"Leave it to Itachi to set a trap even after death." The man said with a slight chuckle. "We Uchiha are formidable... aren't we? I can't believe he had that type of foresight... Well, actually I can, since mine is just as good."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke demanded.

"He placed a jutsu inside of you in an attempt to kill me. The amaterasu apparently activated in response to my sharingan. Thankfully Itachi did not know all of my skills. Or I would undoubtedly be dead right now."

"How is this even possible." Sasuke frowned. He would need a mangekyo like Itachi's in order to use a power like the amaterasu.

"Somehow Itachi managed to activate your mangekyo and plant a trap inside it." The masked man replied. "It was likely why he pushed you so hard during that fight."

"Why would Itachi... why would he do that?"

"He did it to protect you."

Sasuke scoffed. "Protect me. You've got to be kidding me. My brother is a murderer. He would have killed me, if I had not killed him first."

"I'll say it again. You don't know your brother at all."

"Shut up! I'll kill you, if you don't shut up your lies!"

"I'm telling you the truth. Your brother's one and only goal was to protect you." The mask man sighed. "I know it's hard to hear from a stranger. But I knew things about Itachi very few knew... even you, Sasuke. He did mention that he had an accomplice that night, didn't he? I am the one. I am Madara Uchiha."

"And I knew everything about Itachi... more than he realized that I knew..."

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Sasuke yelled, his face filled with rage. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR THIS!"

"No. You need to hear this," The man continued. "It's your obligation. It's about the life of your brother who risked everything for the shinobi world, for the hidden leaf village, and most of all for you, Sasuke. You will know how Itachi Uchiha lived. You owe him that. Do you know why Itachi implanted the amaterasu trap? It's because he never wanted us to meet or to talk. He never wanted you to feel what you are feeling right at this moment. The guilt, the pain, the anger."

The man moved closer, taking a seat on a nearby crate. "Listen to my tale and you'll understand..."

"The only ones who ever knew the truth about Itachi were the leaf's Danzo, the third hokage, and the other two advisers, Homara and Koharu. With the third hokage dead, there are only three elders left who know the secret. And they have been hiding that abominable truth for years. There is no chance any of them will admit to it. So Itachi planned for the truth about him to fade into the darkness of forever. He never knew that I knew his secret, as well. Though, apparently he suspected... which is why he implanted that trap to keep me away from you."

Sasuke stared down at his hands. His body, every muscle and nerve stilled by shock.

"But I don't have to tell you who your brother was. You have memories of the true Itachi right there in your head. Remember him. Remember the brother from your childhood. Kind and gentle. The only one who ever listened and understood you."

Sasuke saw his brother's face some many years ago as Itachi carried him through the Uchiha compound. Sasuke, as a member of the Uchiha clan it is our duty to put the peace of the village above everything else.

"No! No! NO! HE is a murderer!" Sasuke yelled. "He killed his entire clan! He is a rogue ninja... a criminal! I've lived my entire life to defeat him and avenge his crimes. What are you saying to me?"

"It's true he did kill the entire Uchiha clan, and then he fled Konoha as a rogue ninja. But he was ordered to do so." Madara replied. "It was a mission given to him by the third hokage and his council as a captain of the ANBU."

Madara leaned back against the wall of the room and folded his arms. Sighing, he said, "the horrible path taken by your brother's life began one hundred years ago. Around the time of my birth. Before there were organized shinobi villages, and the shinobi world was made up of a chaos of clans. The Uchiha and the Senju clans were by far the two strongest then. They always faced each other in the major wars. During my time, the senju clan gained the upper hand and established the reputation of being the strongest clan... even over the Uchiha. They were led by Hashirama Senju the first hokage.

I rose up through the ranks becoming the strongest of my clan, and I became known as the only shinobi who could ever match the power of Hashirama's wood style. Then I activated my mangekyo and was even able to defeat him. But not long after my powerful visual prowess was activated, my eye sight began to fade. I had to do something to enhance my other senses, so I took the path of a sage. It was well known that Hashirama had taken the mantle of the owl sage after training in the trees of Fukuro Wood. I made my way to the Heights of Taka, in order to be trained as the hawk sage. But upon my return, I found that my clan was in the process of making a truce with the Senju clan, tired of the fighting and the death.

I was the only one who opposed this truce, knowing we, Uchiha, would be the ones who were oppressed under this arrangement. But as the Uchiha leader, I eventually went with the majority and agreed. Soon after, the village hidden in leaves was formed. The village was backed by the Land of Fire who sought peace and stability within its borders. And that is how the system of one village to one nation came to be. This system spread like wild fire and behind it, war was finally extinguished. The world fell into a long peace.

However, peace within Konohagakure was much more tenuous. A fight for the seat of the leader of the village began soon after. Hashirama was chosen. But I knew this was the beginning of the Uchiha clan being displaced from the structure of power. So I decided to advocate for an Uchiha to take the place of leader of the village. This of course led to a confrontation with Hashirama who had already been chosen for the position. No one backed me -not a single Uchiha. They shunned me for taking a stand and rekindling the old flames of war. I was forced to leave the hidden leaf.

Off on my own, I decided I would return as an avenger. I took control of the nine tailed fox with what remained of my mangekyo sharingan, and in the process, I discovered that the tailed beast's chakra could reverse the sealing. But my fate was to be defeated at the Final Valley. It was not until it was too late, that I discovered that my sage powers were weakened in exchange for the unsealing of my mangekyo. I was defeated and my tailed beast was sealed inside of Mito Uzumaki. I died not long after... some of it was from my wounds and injuries... some of it was from my deep shame and sense of loss. My death was not worthy of a sage's rebirth. I had given up and was corrupted by revenge. So I was reborn again as a mortal about thirty years later... that was a little over thirty years ago. Even as that innocent Uchiha boy... before I even regained the memories of my past life, my goal was to become the hokage. But like I said, I was innocent. I did not know -like many young Uchiha boys and girls did not know... that goal was completely impossible. The village would never allow an Uchiha to become hokage."

Now calm, Sasuke frowned down at his hands. He did find it strange that his clan had always been lauded as the best and the brightest, yet not a single Uchiha had ever been named hokage.

"Then Hashirama's brother, the second hokage, established the leaf police. This move was to make it seem like the Uchiha were being entrusted with some power. But really it was to disguise the complete removal of the Uchiha from the governing branch and place them under close scrutiny.

I'm sure going through the ninja academy, you've been told the traditional jobs of the three main clans. The Hyuga to protect the history of the village and its external borders. The Uchiha to maintain policing and to keep the internal peace. The Senju/Uzumaki clan to lead the village."

Sasuke nodded at Madara. "I've heard that before."

"Many Uchiha began to see that this was propaganda to control those who might oppose the village leadership. The Hyuga clan is well known to be very organized -able to work as one strong and formidable unit, almost like a single organism. They also can control the tailed beast and they know many of the village secrets. But they are nauseatingly loyal, and even before the village was formed, they mostly stayed out of the conflicts. They were never seen as much of a threat. The Uchiha clan, however, has traditionally been enemies of the village leadership and were known as a battle clan when they joined the village. My views of opposition continued to be associated with the clan despite their rejection of me. And eventually, our brethren realized that I was right... but it was too late."

"What happened next sealed the Uchiha's fate." Madara stood now stretching his arms and his legs. "The nine tailed fox attack sixteen years ago. There were rumors that it was an Uchiha who released the bijuu and caused the attack. After an Uzumaki and a hyuga were kidnapped... and their mothers murdered, it was deduced that an Uchiha planned an attack on the village and then was going to seal the tailed beast in a jinchuuriki that he or she could control."

"But we were set up!" Madara shouted as he turned and looked fiercely at Sasuke through his mask. "Haven't you ever wondered how your comrade, the altered hyuga ninja, ended up in Orochimaru's hands?"

Sasuke frowned again, thinking of Sabui. He had also thought this was strange. The Hyuga clan was so tight knit and secretive.

"It is well known Orochimaru worked for Danzo." Madara continued. "The same Danzo who sat on Konoha's council. The same Danzo who backed all of those rumors, advising the Third hokage to put the Uchiha clan under strict surveillance by the ANBU black ops and relocating them to the outskirts of the village."

"The isolation of the Uchiha clan resulted in even more suspicion on both sides and eventually the clan planned a coup to take over the village. A spy was planted to watch over the clan... Itachi was that spy."

Madara walked over to Sasuke, placing his hand on the young shinobi's shoulder. "Itachi put aside his own feelings to end a dangerous war that had not yet begun. His only request was that you would be spared in the massacre and protected as a full-fledged member of the village. He knew if he did not take on this burden, some one else would and then he would not be able to save you."

"Everything that he has done has been for you."


	14. Dear Old Friends

**Weekly update part II...**

* * *

Within the gigantic skeletal remains of an ancient dragon of the mountains of Sangaku no Hakaba, Sasuke sat at the head of the bone table surrounded by his team, as well as Madara and Kisame. Much to Suigetsu's chagrin, Kisame had returned to the Akatsuki despite Itachi's death. Though the shark man was a hardened killer, he had a surprisingly large amount of loyalty. The details were fuzzy, but as a result of his time as one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, his loyalty apparently included Madara.

Earlier that day…

After a couple of days of rest, Sasuke was almost healed. He agreed to travel with Madara to the Mountain's Graveyard to meet his team, though he made it quite clear that he still had little use for the masked man. On the way, he informed his travel companion, "I only believed your story because of one of my own memories. And not because of anything that you said to me."

"Whatever it takes." Madara responded. Then he asked, curiously. "What was the memory?"

"When we parted ways that night in the street, there were tears falling from Itachi's eyes." Sasuke responded quietly. "I thought it was my imagination. Just a trick of the light mixed with the hope that the brother who I thought I knew was actually real… After awhile, I forgot about it. But yesterday, after your story… I remembered. His tears. They were real. It makes sense now."

"Itachi loved you." Madara looked over his right shoulder at the young ninja. "In order to save the village and to keep peace in this world he was willing to kill his entire clan. His mother, his father, his best friend, and his lover… but he could not bring himself to kill his younger brother."

Back at the Akatsuki hideout...

Sasuke sat up in his chair. He looked over the four members of his team. "We have a new name… and we have a new goal."

"Our name is now Taka. And our goal is now to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village."

"That is a very tall order Sasuke." Madara commented. "How exactly do you plan to destroy arguably the strongest shinobi village in the world?"

He looked around at Sasuke's team of misfits and added, skeptically, "and with this team… of all things."

"HEY!" Suigetsu stood and pounded on the table. "Don't you dare underestimate us! That could get you killed!"

"You're right… being under estimated is the best disguise in the world." Madara agreed. "But overestimating your own abilities will you get you killed even quicker."

"All I care about is killing the three elders responsible. The rest of them can go to hell," Sasuke lied. He had every intention of punishing every single person who lived and benefited as a result of Itachi's shame.

"If you aim high, the ones below will shield them. It is not going to be as easy as you think." Kisame replied. "And I am confident it is not an underestimation to say the five of you, Taka, don't have the strength to handle this kind of situation by yourselves."

"Listen, Kisame, you old geezer." Suigetsu sneered across the table at his countryman. "We appreciate your loooong years of wisdom, but we don't need it. Your time is better spent concerning yourself with that game we started the other day. You know the one. Because it's time to finish it!"

Suigetsu slid across the table at Kisame, swinging his executioners blade. Kisame unsheathed his own sword and prepared to swing, but Madara stepped between them stopping Suigetsu's sword with his arm.

"Sasuke. You haven't trained them very well." Madara looked over at the other Uchiha.

"Suigetsu! Quit embarrassing Sasuke!" Karin hissed at him. "This is not the time nor the place!"

"My only objective is to obtain Samehada. I only joined Sasuke to get my hands on that sword!" Suigetsu yelled back at Karin.

Sasuke raised his hand. "Fine by me. Do whatever you have to, Suigetsu. But know this… you can not win against him, yet. Be smart and bide your time."

Suigetsu removed his enormous sword, re-sheathing it. "Yeah. Whatever. Thanks for the vote of confidence Sasuke. Really makes a man feel good to be a part of your team."

He pointed two of his fingers at his eye and then thrust them towards Kisame in a 'I'm watching you' gesture, before removing himself from the table.

"The Akatsuki is low on manpower right now. There are only five of us left. We should avoid unnecessary skirmishes, don't you think?" Madara commented lower his arm. "We share common interests. So from here on out, Taka will work with the Akatsuki."

"And why pray tell would we do that?" Sasuke asked. "What's in it for us?"

"A tailed beast." Madara said matter factly. "Your mangekyo, Sasuke. How exactly do you plan to keep your dojutsu from sealing itself?"

Sasuke scowled but did not answer.

"I'm sure Itachi told you that the only way to keep from going blind is by exposing your mangekyo sharingan to the chakra of a tailed beast."

"Ok. So what do you want from us?" Sasuke replied, begrudgingly.

"There are nine of these tailed beasts in the world and the Akatsuki has collected six so far." Kisame answered. "Only three remain."

"Taka and the Akatsuki will split up and capture the remaining three. That is the immediate goal." Madara finished.

"So we'll go after the nine tails then…" Sasuke smirked.

"Taka will capture the eight tails. The Akatsuki will hunt the rest." Madara corrected. There was no way he was sending Sasuke back towards Konoha. So far the boy was following orders, but he could not be completed trusted.

* * *

Naruto lay on his bed under the sheets and stared at the cracked walls of his bedroom. Hinata had already been by twice, letting herself in the apartment and knocking softly on the bedroom door to wake him. She was way too polite to actually barge into the room without being invited, like Sakura would if she ever got her hands on a key. But he could sense her outside his door yearning to come inside. It seemed urgent, but he could not seem to pull himself out of this feeling of loss to find out what exactly was bothering her. They had failed again to bring Sasuke back. He just up and disappeared after the black flames finally died down enough for them to get to the ruins of the Uchiha hide out.

"Sasuke what are you doing right now?" He had looked for the crow again. Perhaps Masuku knew where to find him. But there was no sign of her either.

He thought about his meeting with Itachi in the woods. He had not told anyone, not even Hinata, what the Uchiha had said to him while he was in the genjutsu.

 _"What if Sasuke were to attack the hidden leaf village?" Itachi asked. "What would you do then? What if he wanted your tailed beast and he were to come after you and the girl that you are sealed to?"_

 _"Wha? No way! Sasuke would never do that!" Naruto argued._

 _"Maybe not… or may be so. Sasuke is a blank canvas. He could go either way." Itachi retorted. "If he chooses wrong, would you be able to stop him? Or even kill him if need be?"_

 _"Where does Sasuke land when weighed against your village and the girl who you love?" Itachi asked._

 _Naruto frowned and said confidently. "I'd save the hidden leaf and Hinata and I'd find a way to stop Sasuke without killing him!"_

 _Itachi laughed, skeptically. "You're still a foolish child, I see."_

 _"That's fantasy. A real shinobi must be capable of making the harsh decisions."_

 _"I've been told to give up on Sasuke before! By a greater shinobi than you! If I didn't listen to him, why the hell would I listen to you?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Itachi, staring him down. "I gave my word. I'm bringing Sasuke back to this village. He will be one of us again, no matter what! And I'll always protect Hinata. I will die before she is ever harmed! That's on my word and I never go back on my word, believe it."_

 _Itachi smiled slightly and waved his hand. A large crow appeared in front of Naruto shoving itself into his mouth and down his throat. "I've given you some of my power. If my brother chooses wrong... only use it if there is no other way."_

 _Naruto choked, struggling against the invading creature. The genjutsu released._

 _Naruto crumpled to the ground and coughed before frowning up at Itachi. "I thought... I thought you said you weren't after me? And I told you to leave Hinata out of this! What is this about anyway?"_

 _"I'm going now." Itachi replied without answering any of Naruto's questions. "I have an important matter to attend to."_

 _He dissolved into a flock of crows. It was a shadow clone._

 _"If that was a shadow clone, I hate to see what the real Itachi can do." Naruto mumbled as he moved towards Hinata to make sure she was ok. "That was strange. What was that about?"_

In his own bed, Naruto rolled over onto his back. What had Itachi given him?

* * *

"Well?" Black Zetsu asked as Madara approached him on the bridge. It was early evening but the shadows were getting longer, and the Zetsus set themselves within the darkest shadows in the area. White Zetsu was not picky, but Black Zetsu loved darkness. The plant structure that surrounded them stayed closed unless there was something or someone to see.

"It went perfectly."

"That's good to hear." Black Zetsu answered approvingly in a gruff voice.

"Itachi is dead. So that obstacle is finally gone. And now, we no longer need to keep our pact to stay away from the hidden leaf village." Madara smiled maliciously behind his mask. "There is still one thing that is bothering me however."

"What is that?" White Zetsu asked.

"Itachi's body has disappeared... which is strange. It could have been burned with the amaterasu, but you said you saw him die right next to Sasuke. If that were true, Sasuke would have been burned too."

"We both saw him die there with our own two eyes." White Zetsu said with certainty. "Maybe Itachi's body was taken while we slipped away to tell you the fight was over."

"Maybe. But who would want to steal Itachi's body?" Madara asked deep in thought. "He placed insurance in Sasuke... a trap to keep him away from me. It seems Itachi did not fully trust me. Even though I promised not to recruit Sasuke, I don't believe he believed me."

"Probably not." White Zetsu replied. Black Zetsu said, "and wisely so."

"That being said... he could have other secrets too. Boobie traps set to spring on us at any moment. So I want to make sure he is actually dead." Madara looked at the plant man. "Look around and see if you find any signs that he may still be alive. If he is alive, he could be the one hitch that will undo all that I have accomplished with Sasuke."

"So far everything is following exactly as I planned… I can't have it screwed up now."

* * *

Sasuke stood with Sabui on the beach as they watched Suigetsu interrogate one of the kumo ninja for the location of the eight tails' jinchuuriki.

"You don't need to go any further." Sasuke said to the altered shinobi. "I have another assignment for you."

"What is it, Senpai?" Sabui asked.

"I want you to keep an eye on the man in the mask."

"Aren't we working with him?"

"I don't believe he wants to work with us. I don't know what his angle is yet... but Madara is a liar." Sasuke replied. He looked down at Sabui now. He only planned to entrust him with this portion of his thoughts. After all, it had as much to do with Sabui as it did with Sasuke. "He claims Danzo from the Konoha council is the one who released the nine tails, sixteen years ago when it destroyed the village... He claims Danzo was trying to set up the Uchiha clan by kidnapping you and an Uzumaki child, to make it look like one of our ninja was trying to create a jinchuuriki. Then Danzo gave you to Orochimaru after he did not need you anymore. But that sounds a little far fetched... how was Danzo able to control a tailed beast? Before he died, Itachi said Madara was the one who released the nine tails and set it against the village sixteen years ago. Itachi may have been wrong, but he had no reason to lie.""

Sabui looked down at his feet and frowned. Knowing that his birth clan had not handed him over to the masochistic snake sannin, did not lessen his anger towards the Hyugas. Orochimaru was a part of their village. They knew what he was. If they had done everything in their power to find him, he would not have lived the terrible life that he had lived. He clenched his fists tighter. He just hoped this did not change things for Sasuke. He was starting to like this sudden turn of events. Now Sasuke's desires aligned with his own... to destroy Konohagakure and everyone who lived there, particularly the Hyuga Clan. "So if you don't think it was Danzo and the council, are we no longer capturing the eight tails and returning to Konoha to destroy it?"

"No. That's still the plan. But I don't trust Madara. He is telling us what we want to hear. He has no intention of giving up any of those tailed beasts. And... there is a reason he sent us after the eight tails... and not Naruto or the six tails." Sasuke frowned. "I've heard stories about this particular jinchuuriki. He has complete control over his bijuu. Madara is expecting us to screw this up."

"Do we actually have a chance of defeating him?" Sabui asked, skeptically. He had heard of this jinchuuriki too. Killer Bee was the raikage's brother. He not only had control over the eight tails' chakra. He could also take on the eight tails' beast form, accessing all of its powers.

Sasuke paused, considering. "I don't know... but you'll just be in the way if you come, so it's better if we part here."

"Head back to the Land of Fire. The chakra I absorbed from Orochimaru... Itachi let it out during the battle and appeared to kill what was left of Orochimaru. But I don't trust that he is actually dead. Orochimaru has more lives than a cat ...keep an eye out for any signs of his return."

Sabui nodded. "I'll look into it."

* * *

Kakashi was not nearly as polite as Hinata. He knocked loudly on Naruto's bedroom window after scaling the side of the apartment building, and then he opened it without bothering to wait for Naruto to let him in. "Time to get up! Lady Tsunade is summoning you."

"Humm?" Naruto sat up and ran his hand through his unruly blonde hair. "It's still early."

"It's two o clock in the afternoon." Kakashi retorted.

"Like I said. It's still early." Naruto flopped back onto his bed.

"Get dressed and meet me downstairs in five minutes." Kakashi instructed before snapping the window shut again.

Naruto reluctantly got up off of his bed and searched for his orange and black sweat suit among the scattering of clothes that covered his bedroom floor. After getting dressed, he slipped his necklace over his head and grabbed a banana which was starting to turn brown from the counter. He walked out of his apartment, locked the door and hopped down the twenty steps to the bottom floor. Kakashi was standing a few feet away in the street. He motioned for Naruto to follow and then set off towards the academy with his hands in his pockets.

"What is this about?" Naruto frowned as he noted Gamabunta with Gamakichi on his head, looming over the buildings at the center of the village as they sat right outside of the academy.

"Hey ho! Chief Toad. Gamakichi. What are you two doing here?"

"NARUTO." The gigantic toad's deep voice caused the ground to shake slightly. His son waved solemnly but said nothing in response.

"Come on, Naruto. Lady Tsunade is waiting." Kakashi slowed a bit to push Naruto forward with his hand. When they finally reached the hokage's office, they found a full room waiting for them. Toads of various sizes and colors were sitting around the office. Sai, Sakura, and Hinata were there too with Tsunade and Shizune. The first thought that came to Naruto's mind was why didn't anyone invite Pervy Sage to the party?

"So this is Jiraiya boy's student, huh?" The small green toad with three oddly placed tuffs of gray hairs sprouting out of his spotted head spoke from a large blue toad, carrying a seat on its back.

"Yes, this is Naruto Uzumaki. The one Jiraiya has chosen to succeed him." Tsunade responded from behind her desk. Her face gave nothing away, but Naruto noticed there was something off about the look in her eyes. It irritated him. This entire scene irritated him. It was as if...

"Who the hell is this geezer toad?" Naruto interjected angrily. He balled up his fists. "What is going on?!"

"Pipe down!" Tsunade snapped harshly. "Have more respect. He is one of the two great sage toads of Mt Myobuku, Lord Fukasaku. He traveled all the way here to speak with you."

"Never mind that. Tell me. Are you really Jiraiya boy's student?" Fukasaku asked.

"BOY AGAIN! Don't you treat Master Jiraiya like a kid! Do you know who the Pervy Sage is?!" Naruto glared at the toad, not quite certain why the presence of this toad was angering him so much.

"NARUTO!" Tsunade snapped. "I told you to watch your mouth! Do you know who Lord Fukasaku is? Jiraiya would not be happy if he saw you speaking to his master this way!"

"Huh?" Naruto looked at the toad in surprise. The old toad looked back at him and then started to laugh.

"So you call him the Pervy Sage... how fitting -should of thought of that myself." Fukasaku said to himself in between chuckles.

"Well? What do you want? Why'd you come all the way here to talk to me?" Naruto asked, sulking.

The toad stopped laughing and sighed. "Well... I brought some news... terrible news..."

"I don't want to hear it." Naruto interrupted turning to stare daggers at Tsunade.

"You need to hear it. And I need to say it, Naruto boy." Fukasaku pressed on. "Jiraiya boy has died in battle."

"I don't believe it." Naruto whispered. His fists balled up tighter, until his nails cut into his palms drawing blood, his face turning red. He shrugged Hinata's hand off of his shoulder after she tried to place it there to comfort him.

Fukasaku continued. "I know this is very sudden, so I understand why you don't believe me. But for some time now, rumors have been circulating that the leader of the Akatsuki was operating out of the Village Hidden in the Rain. So Jiraiya went there in person to verify whether these rumors were true and to flush out more intel on this leader."

"But that village is nearly impossible to infiltrate." Sakura frowned.

"People call it, the place where shinobi go to die." Sai added, earning some irritated looks as a result of his insensitive comment.

"Jiriaya boy had his ways. He was a master of infiltration and espionage." Fukasaku replied. "He got inside of the village easily. Then he encountered Pain, the Akatsuki's leader. That's when he discovered that Pain was a former student of Jiraiya boy's from many many years ago... around the time of the Third Ninja war. His name was Nagato."

Tsunade nodded. "Nagato. I haven't heard that name in years. He was one of the three war orphans who Jiraiya took under his wing. Orochimaru and I told him not to trust them... But he... he always saw some good in everyone and everything, and he refused to abandon them. He stayed there with them for months. Taught them how to protect themselves. Who would have known..."

"But how did this Pain manage to defeat Jiraiya? He's a sage?" Kakashi asked, incredulously. "If he can defeat a shinobi that powerful..."

"He had the Rinnegan. The ocular jutsu of the Sage of Six Paths, the father of all shinobi." Fukasaku replied. Half of the ninja in the room gasped. The other half just stared at the toad blankly. Fukasaku ignored them.

"I believe there was a time that Jiraiya boy thought this child, Nagato, was to be his successor as a result of the power bestowed upon the boy. But apparently there were certain characteristics that Nagato owned... which caused Jiraiya boy to doubt. He tried to keep track of the children but then they disappeared, and he thought all three of them had died. That was not completely true. Only one of the children died, Yahiko. And somehow this Pain has come to possess his friend and five others. There are six with the Rinnegan. Jiraiya battled all six to uncover their secrets. He believed that Nagato was somehow controlling the Pains, but he was not actually among them. In the last seconds of his life, Jiraiya left a message. I believe it may contain the secret to defeating Nagato."

Fukasaku pulled off his cloak and turned to show off the coded message on his back. "There is more information that Jiraiya boy collected as well. He was able to kill one of the Pains and recover his body. I have brought the corpse for you to analyze. Also, each Pain has a different ability which I have written down for your review. The last thing that Jiraiya left for me to pass on was his final choice for a successor."

"You let him go, didn't you?" Naruto interrupted, no longer listening. "He told you that he wanted to take this mission and you let him go."

Tsunade looked up from her hands into Naruto's eyes. "Yes. That's right."

"Why would you ever let him go on a mission so risky alone?" Naruto asked, quietly. His voice was stoney and cold. He narrowed his eyes at the Hokage. "If Master Jiraiya had become the fifth hokage like he was supposed to be... he would have never let you risk your life like this."

"Stop it Naruto." Kakashi warned. "You know exactly how Lady Tsunade feels."

Tsunade looked back down at her hands, not disagreeing. Naruto turned to walk out of the office. "I need to be alone."

"But, Naruto!" Sakura called after. "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere. Don't follow me." Naruto slammed the door behind him, shutting himself off from everyone in that room. They were alive and Jiraiya was dead. He was so angry, he could hardly bare it. And the pain that lay right underneath the anger was even worse. He needed to find somewhere to hide from it, and right now, he could not deal with their empathetic looks and comforting speeches.

He grunted, but he could not shut out Hinata. He could feel her behind the door, worrying about him. Her presence in his mind made him pause and look back. He did not want her to worry.

" _Don't stop. Keep going. Push her away too... you don't need anyone. You're use to being alone. Everyone in this world just leaves or dies... so will she... eventually._ " Kurama's voice broke through the immense sadness and pain that was slowly seeping into his heart. Naruto just growled in response, and then, continued down the hall and out of the front door to escape into the bustle of the village street.

He looked up and then down the street before wandering over to a wall that sat across from the academy building. Something caught his eye. There were all sorts of advertisements and posters pinned in a skewed mess across the surface. An old flyer advertising one of Jiraiya's books hung among the others...

 ** _BRAND NEW ICHA ICHA..._**

 ** _Icha Icha Paradise! Best new novel of the year._**

 ** _The accomplished novelist, Master Jiraiya, The Great Toad Sage of the Leaf, is waiting to take you on another long vacation to the Isle of Love._**

 ** _With his latest title, Icha Icha Paradise, the Icha Icha series concludes._** ** _Don't let it conclude without you._**

 ** _On May 3rd, coming to a store near you!_**

Naruto sighed and then stumbled away, not certain where he was headed. He walked with his head down until he found himself seated on a bench. Tears blurred his vision as he watched the swirling colors of the passing village. He was unaware of how long that he sat there. Several people came by and spoke to him. Some sat down and touched his shoulder or his arm, but he did not listen or pay attention to who they were or what they had to say. "Pervy Sage..."

"Naruto." Eventually, a familiar and comforting voice came, which he latched onto. Naruto wiped his face and turned his head to look. It was Iruka. "I heard what happened to Master Jiraiya."

"All I wanted was for him to keep watching over me." The words just began to tumble out of Naruto's mouth, and once they started to flow, he found he did not want to stop. "I wanted him to see me become hokage. But I only showed him the worst and most uncool side of me, ya know. I'm still... I feel so..."

"Listen to me. All Jiraiya ever had was praise for you." Iruka said, firmly. "He always boasted about you. He kept saying that you were like his own grandchild. In the end, he knew that you were the one who had inherited his will... that is why he chose you as his successor."

"It's rare that a dying Sage names a successor." Iruka continued. "Usually sages are chosen by fate. But Jiraiya had faith in you -that you were destined for greatness. And you better believe, he's watching you and he always will be. Even at this very minute. And he would not be happy to see you like this... sad and upset. He'd want to see you continue to be strong, determined, proud, and brave... the you who he praised so much."

Iruka placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and looked up to find Hinata standing there, again. He smiled at her. For the last hour, she had circled the village, passing Naruto's bench several times. She sat down next to him twice without the blond ninja acknowledging her, turning to him as if to speak before changing her mind to get up and circle the village once again.

For sometime, Iruka stood with Kakashi in a nearby store, watching this awkward dance go on, as the copy ninja caught him up to speed on everything that had occurred in the hokage's office.

"Thank you, Iruka Sensei." Naruto gave his teacher a slight smile, before taking a deep breath.

Iruka stood up and stretched. "Well. It looks like it's going to be a very nice evening. Clear enough that all of the stars will be out tonight. The two of you should enjoy it. Good company on a clear night always helps."

Naruto looked up and into Hinata's eyes. He had sensed her the entire time, worrying about him and longing to find some way to comfort him, but at the same time, sensing that he wanted to be left alone.

After Iruka left, Hinata sat down next to Naruto, close enough that their legs touched. She did not say anything. There was no need for words. She could feel that he wanted her there and he could feel that she wanted to be there. So they just sat together silently and watched the village pass by, until it started to grow dark. And then the stars came out, twinkling brightly in the sky. Naruto took off his sweat shirt and put it around Hinata's shoulders. They did not part until it was close to midnight.

* * *

A few days later, Hinata found herself caught up in one of Sakura and Ino's brilliant schemes. She happened to mention to Sakura that she was thinking about planning a little surprise to cheer Naruto up. This turned into a full blown redecorating project in a matter of twenty four hours.

"But you have a key right?" Sakura asked as she dragged Hinata by the hand into another shop. This one was full of different colored paints and patterned wall papers. "It will cheer him up. A nice clean apartment, with freshly painted walls, and newly covered furniture. That would make anyone feel better."

"What's his favorite color?" Ino asked flipping through the book of paint colors.

"Blue and orange." Hinata replied. She was not sure when Sakura and Ino learned how to sew. Sewing was one of the skills that her mother taught her early on, but she not practiced in years. This was already starting to sound disastrous.

"No way. Maybe we should just stick to white then" Sakura said moving towards the counter to order the paint. They had already bought cleaning supplies and some generic dark beige fabric for the chairs and couch in his living room. They recruited Shikamaru to get Naruto out of the apartment. He needed his help to decipher Jiraiya's code anyway. Kiba, Choji, Sai, and Shino were recruited to toss out all of the junk, move the furniture, and paint. Hinata, Ino, and Sakura were in charge of the heavy duty cleaning, decorating, and sewing the furniture covers.

Their hands ladened with cans of paint, brushes and rollers, Sakura, Ino and Hinata found themselves in the street again headed back towards Naruto's apartment. Hinata handed Sakura the key and said, "I'll meet you there."

She had to finish her original idea. Hinata knew Naruto kept a pile of pictures in his bedside drawer of all the important people in his life. There was a picture of his parents, one of him with Jiraiya and Tsunade, one of team seven, one of Lord third and Konohamaru, one of their entire group of friends after a mission, and one of him and Hinata together. His apartment was so cluttered that he never had any place to display them, but now he would. So she decided she would spend the last of her money on some nice frames for his pictures. That way, even when he was alone in his apartment, he would have all of them with him. If anything, she was certain that would cheer him up.

The rest of the afternoon was spent working hard on Naruto's apartment. Hinata ended up sewing most of the furniture covers and then resewing the hatchet jobs done by Sakura and Ino. After Sakura got the idea that they should use the extra material to make curtains, Hintata just politely took over and sent them to finish cleaning. The guys did all of the painting but it had taken so long to haul away the trash that they only finished the living room.

The job was only half way done by the time Naruto came crashing back into his apartment with Shikamaru on his heels.

"I tried to stop him. Even bought him some ramen." Shikamaru shrugged. "But he insisted on coming back. This day has been a total drag, man."

"Wha?" Naruto looked around at everyone in his apartment. He thought it was odd that he had sensed Hinata in his apartment for most of the day while Shikamaru insisted on shuffling him around the village. But this was not what he had expected to find when he got home. "What are you all doing here?"

"Surprise!" Ino and Sakura shouted, with mops and dust rags in hand.

"Sorry dude. We only got to the living room with the paint -but the girls did clean it up in there." Kiba said, coming out of the bedroom into the living room.

Naruto looked past everyone to Hinata, who was standing across the room holding one of the framed pictures that she had been setting up on the small table that sat underneath the living room window. He walked over to her and looked at all of the pictures. "You guys did all of this for me?"

"The painting and redecorating were Sakura's and Ino's idea." Hinata said softly. "I just thought you might want your pictures framed so you could see them..."

"These look great!" Naruto took the framed picture of him, Jiraiya, and Tsunade from Hinata. He smiled at her. "This whole place looks great. Thank you all for this!"

"Your welcome pal!" Kiba said loudly, patting Naruto roughly on the back. Then he began chatting about all of the areas he personally painted in the room.

Sakura looked back and forth between Naruto and Hinata and said, "Ummm... guys, maybe we should get going."

"Come on Kiba!" Sakura growled. Grabbing Kiba's arm, Sakura pulled hard. "We'll be back tomorrow to finish!"

"See ya!" Ino called as she was pulled out of the apartment by Sakura too. Shino, Sai, Choji and Shikamaru all said their good byes and left behind the others. Naruto and Hinata found themselves alone in the apartment.

"So do you really like it?" Hinata asked, shyly.

Naruto nodded moving closer to Hinata. "This is the nicest thing anyone has every done for me. You guys are the greatest, ya know."

Hinata wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. "We just wanted you to remember, that you have lots of friends. And everyone is here for you... whenever you need us."

Naruto lifted Hinata's face towards his face. He leaned his forehead against her forehead, pressing his nose against her nose. His fingers entwined in her long black hair. Their bodies pressed together, with the picture frame between them as they lips met. Hinata felt herself blush as Naruto wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and she completely gave into the passion of the kiss. It was as if they were kissing for the very first time, and the room... the village... and the entire world faded away.


	15. Love & Kamaboko

Between Shikamaru's daily hounding about Jiraiya's code and Hiashi's crammed training schedule, Naruto had no time to truly feel the continued sadness and loss that resulted from his master's death and his best friend's absence. Life had to move on. And he had spent the entire first half of his life hiding from the sadness in his heart. But then he met Iruka sensei and befriended Hinata. He became a part of team seven and took Jiraiya as a teacher. Lady Tsunade became like a grandmother and the rest of the village began to acknowledge him. He no longer had to pretend to be happy. He just was happy. And he knew Iruka was right. Jiraiya would not want him to lose sight of that happiness.

"In order to leave for Mount Myoboku to begin your training as a sage, you have to complete your sealed shadow clone first." Hiashi stood over Naruto with his arms crossed and his byakugan activated, as the young ninja attempted to create the seal that would be the center of his clone. "More chakra. It needs more chakra."

Hinata sat nearby watching as Naruto poured a massive amount of chakra into the seal. It was astonishing that he could infuse that much chakra without killing himself, or at least without passing out. She kept Kurama suppressed, so Naruto did not have to use any chakra to keep the tailed beast contained, and he could focus all of his energy on the clone's seal. But through the binding seal, she could feel the nine tailed fox stirring. Any movement from Kurama was an ominous sign, since a night cycle for the long lived tailed beast seemed to last months as opposed to hours. Her father did not seem to think there would be any danger in using this jutsu, but Hinata still felt anxious. She knew better than anyone the impressive amount of chakra that Naruto owned, but Kurama was known to sense and exploit any weakness or strain on his jinchuuriki's defenses and the sealed clone was a definite strain.

A few months earlier, during one of his many lectures, Hiashi explained the process of creating a sealed shadow clone to Naruto. "It is a living, breathing, and aging entity. Unlike a regular shadow clone it has its own will… obviously it is somewhat influenced by your will since it is your clone, but if you leave it on its own long enough, it will develop its own wants, needs, and ambitions. That is dangerous. The sealed clone is only limited by the fact that it cannot act against you, its creator. Otherwise it can kill and be killed like a human."

"Why have I never heard anything about this before. Kakashi sensei is an expert with clones and he never uses these things." Naruto complained. He was already skilled with shadow clones. This just seemed like a waste of time.

"It's a forbidden jutsu!" Hiashi said this harshly. "…Except to a descent of the Uzumaki clan. And even then, permission must be granted by the Hokage. The amount of chakra it takes to create a sealed clone would kill anyone else… even Kakashi Hatake. Traditionally, they were used for training purposes, so the creator could be in two different places... learning two different skills for an extended period of time."

"Well what's the purpose of that." Naruto grumbled, halfway nodding off. He yawned. "I use my multi shadow clone jutsu for that already."

Hiashi thumped Naruto on the head, causing him to wake up fully and sit up straighter. "Sealed shadow clones are much sturdier than regular shadow clones, so they can last for years -even decades. They bleed and can be healed like a normal human. They don't just disappear when injured. As long as the seal is not reabsorbed by the creator, the sealed shadow clone will exist -even as a dead body."

Presently, Naruto finished the seal. It was an intricate pattern of brilliant white chakra, so condensed in the round pattern of the seal that it was even visible to the normal eye. He made some more hand seals and the seal began to sprout chakra. A rudimentary chakra network formed around the seal, becoming more intricate as Naruto made more and more hand seals. Eventually the chakra network resembled that of an actual human.

"You can make the clone appear how you choose. But you are skilled with the clone jutsu and not so much with transformation, so it will be easiest to make the clone look like an actual clone."

Naruto made the hand seals for his clone jutsu and focused on the seal. Bones, blood vessels, nerves, muscles, soft tissue, skin, and hair began to cover the chakra network, shaping itself into a fully formed and stark naked teenage boy.

Hinata blushed, and kept her eyes trained on the real Naruto. His naked clone was just waking up into its existence and was not yet aware it should be fully clothed.

Hiashi grabbed a cloak off a nearby stump and tossed it over the clone's body. "Very good. I don't see any flaws this time. This one should last."

Passing the real Naruto, he tapped his student's shoulder in approval. Naruto smiled up at Hinata. He had made several attempts at sealed clones over the last couple of months. Some did not have enough limbs, or lacked a head or half a torso, and it had to be reabsorbed right away. Once he forgot nerves and muscles and the clone was a flaccid mass of skin and bones.

This clone looked exactly like one of Naruto's usual shadow clones, but he managed to to transform the clone's hair to an odd shade of sea green and his eyes were a dark lavender color.

"I thought it was a nice touch ya know." Naruto explained to Hinata about his choice of hair and eye color later on. "It'll give him his own identity."

Naruto named the clone, Kamaboko, for the food from which his own name was derived. And then he gave him a tshirt and an old pair of sweat pants that he never wore anymore.

It did not take long for Kamaboko to become fully aware. And since he liked everything that Naruto liked, the two of them were soon chatting it up at Ichiraku's over piping hot bowls of ramen.

Hinata was always fully aware of all of Naruto's clones through the binding seal, but the regular shadow clones felt like wispy extensions of the real Naruto and not a separate presence. However Kamabako felt like a separate presence. She felt him like a second Naruto... even his emotions as he became aware of his surroundings.

* * *

Shikamaru stood over the shoulder of Shiho, a kunoichi from the cryptanalysis team, straining his neck to see what she was writing while keeping as much distance as possible between them. He didn't like the way the young woman with coke bottle glasses watched him like a cat waiting for a canary to get just close enough to nab.

"Even with the key... this book! It makes me blush!" Shiho slide her glasses up her nose, slick with embarrassed perspiration, as she read one of Jiraiya's novels from the Make Out series. She was completely captivated and engrossed, but Shikamaru could not tell if the code held her attention or the reading material. He just hoped she was not replacing the main characters with him and herself in her mind.

"Well?" He asked impatiently.

After a week of nagging like his mother, Shikamaru finally rung something out of Naruto's mind that may have given them the key to the code. It ended up being very simple but it took awhile to pull it out of his comrade. There was no doubt that Naruto was distracted after Jiraiya's death. But despite attempts to appear completely oblivious to his surroundings, Shikamaru was relatively skilled at picking up on subtle cues, and he could tell something else was occupying Naruto's thoughts these days.

He didn't bother to ask because he bet it had something to do with Hinata... which meant it had something to do with love and relationships... which meant Shikamaru was all about minding his own business.

It was bad enough that Ino kept nudging him and giggling every time Sunagakure was brought up. He was staying as far away from love as possible for as long as possible. Temari was one of the least noxious girls, who he had ever met, but his tolerance of her was starting to ruin his reputation.

"Here it is." Shiho held up the message that she deciphered with the key. "The key to severing the six is within the metal rods."

"That's it?" Shikamaru shook his head. He had spent an entire week uncoding this arbitrary message. What a drag. He took the paper from Shiho's hands. "Well I'll get this to the hokage."

"Come back soon, Shikamaru dear." Shiho called after the object of her affection. She smiled and looked dazedly at him, pushing her glasses back up her nose again. Her face flushed.

Quickly sticking the paper in his pocket, Shikamaru slunk out of the door. "Awww man."

* * *

Naruto paced nervously outside of Hiashi's office. He hesitated intermittently and reconsidered this current course of action, before reaching his hand into his pocket feeling for the something cool, round, and reassuring inside, and plodding forward again.

The door creaked open slightly, and one of Hiashi's white eyes appeared from inside. "Naruto. You wish to speak with me?"

"Yes... sensei... master... sir." Naruto stumbled through which title to use. The Hyugas were so formal and polite, it made Naruto feel terribly uncomfortable. The only reason he did not call Hiashi by his hard earned nickname, Master Fuddy-duddy, was because he was Hinata's father. Oh... but he thought it to himself all of the time.

Hiashi opened his door wide. Despite his thorough attempt to dislike Naruto, he had actually become quite fond of his student. Naruto's work ethic was solid and determined, and he followed instructions well. Plus Naruto always found a way to bring a bit of humor to even the dullest lesson and even Hiashi Hyuga could appreciate that.

So Hiashi, respectfully, sat down at his desk across from Naruto with his hands folded, waiting for his student to speak.

"Well... Hinata and I... we... together..." As he stuttered, Naruto's face started to turn beet red. Hinata was really starting to rub off on him, Hiashi chuckled to himself. Naruto was so embarrassed, he couldn't remember what he planned to say next.

"You seem to be growing very close to my daughter." Hiashi finished for him. "That is what a binding seal does. It provides an intimacy that you will never find with anyone else."

Naruto reached in his pocket and pulled out the ring that he had been carrying around for days, setting it on the desk for Hiashi to see. It was an antique ring with a silver setting and lavender amethyst at the center. Gathering his nerve, he said confidently. "I'd like to make it official!"

Hiashi cleared his throat and sat forward. "You know... Hinata cannot get married until she turns eighteen. I'm sorry but those are the clan rules."

"I know that." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It's just usually... ya know, you Hyuga guys, have an official ceremony or something to say that..."

Naruto paused for a second to think over the rest of his sentence.

"We're engaged, betrothed, promised to each other?" Hiashi prompted.

"Right!" Naruto pointed at his sensei. "But Hinata never got that. We were just sealed together in some danky cave."

Naruto sat up straighter. "So anyway. I wanted to give her this ring and maybe have an official ceremony -like you guys do. With your permission... that is, Master Hiashi?"

Hiashi sat back in his chair, crossing his hands over his chest. He knew this was all formality. Hinata was already sealed to Naruto and it was obvious that they deeply cared for one another. Even if he wanted to marry her off within their clan, no respectable family would agree. Still he was grateful to Naruto for asking his permission anyway. "When you return from Mt Myoboku, we will have the ceremony. But you might want to give her the ring before you leave..."

"Sure thing!" Naruto hopped up from his seat, snatching the ring up. "Thanks Master Hiashi!"

* * *

Masuku hurried into the cave again as she heard a soft moan coming from the mat where Itachi lay. He had finally gained consciousness that morning, but it was still touch and go because at this point the most Itachi had done was open his black eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling.

She scooped a cup of water from the bucket of water that she just collected, lifting Itachi's head and placing the rim of the cup gently to his lips. He weakly sipped the water as he finally focused up at her. She could tell he wanted to say something, but was too weak. She said, "Rest first... then you can tell me all about how mad you are."

Gently placing Itachi's head back down against the mat, Masuku pulled the fallen blanket up around his chest. She wished the cave was better insulated. As the season changed to fall, the last few nights had been miserably cold. Luckily she brought several thick wool blankets. But she had to use all of them to bundle up Itachi and had spent the entire night shivering violently on her own mat. Itachi slowly shook his head at her and moved his lips to say something. Masuku frowned in reply, not understanding. "Anything else can wait until you are stronger, Senpai."

Itachi's voice came out raspy. He was not going to give up until she heard him. Sighing, Masuku leaned her ear closer to hear what he was trying to say. "Pain..."

"You're in pain?" Masuku asked, looking alarmed. If Itachi was admitting to pain, he must really hurt. She rubbed her hands together and focused chakra in her palms. "Where does it hurt?"

Itachi reached up and weakly grasped at her arm, shaking his head again. "Pain... to... Konoha."

A thought tickled the back of her mind. Years ago, Itachi had placed a tracking mark on Pain during the only time that they actually encountered the real Akatsuki shinobi and not just his essence. This is how she knew he was holed up in the village hidden in the rain this entire time. Itachi was convinced that when the Akatsuki did eventually go after the nine tails, they would send Pain and not him. No matter what was said, the man in the mask did not trust Itachi. And Pain was the only other one, who could get through Konoha's defenses before he was sensed.

* * *

Naruto took Hinata's hand and moved her away from the rest of the group who had traveled to the front gate to say farewell to him. Today he was leaving to train at Mt Myoboku and who knew how long he would be away. For almost a year now, the couple had been nearly inseparable, and even when they were separated, they still knew exactly where the other one was and how he or she was feeling. The distance between the realms would make sensing such details impossible.

"What am I going to do without you here?" Hinata asked quietly. She knew that their separation... even though it was just temporarily, was going to be painful. "I miss you already."

Naruto beamed down at her though his eyes also looked apprehensive. He too had become dependent on Hinata's presence. He did not want to feel the loneliness that he had so often felt before they were sealed together. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon... Master old geezer frog says it will only take a couple of months... and I bet it will actually only take a couple of weeks, ya know."

"Naruto! We gotta get going!" Master Fukasaku barked at his new student from his seat on the back of the larger toad.

Naruto ignored the old toad and reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring now strung on a chain with a small silver locket. "Oh... and I got you something to keep with you while I'm gone."

Hinata took the jewelry and smiled at it. "Really? This is for me? You didn't have to... but I love it."

"It's a locket with our picture in it... and the ring that I plan to put on your finger when I come back." Naruto decided that he wanted to wait until the actually ceremony to put the engagement ring on Hinata's finger. Then Naruto scratched the back of his head. "That is... if you agree to marry me."

"Of course I do!" Hinata's cheeks flushed as she threw her arms around Naruto's neck, kissing him uncharacteristically hard on the lips.

"Well... your father says we have to wait until you turn eighteen to actually get married... but he promised to have an official sealing ceremony when I get back from my training." Naruto explained. Hinata nodded without an ounce of apprehension. She tried to step back but Naruto pulled her back into his arms and kissed her again. He whispered softly in her ear. "I want to make sure you have everything you want and deserve, ya know."

"Oh Naruto. I only want you." Hinata whispered back. This was more than sentiment. This was truth. She could not remember a time when her heart did not long for Naruto. She placed her hand on his cheek and looked up into his blue eyes. "Can you put my necklace on me?"

Turning her around, Naruto lifted up Hinata's long hair off the nape of her neck and clasped the necklace around her. Hinata shivered as he softly ran his fingers along the side of her neck and said, "I love you."

"I hate to break this up kids! But we gotta get going!" Master Fukasaku yelled again, clearing his throat and hopping his giant toad up in between the two teens before Hinata could respond.

"Yeah ok! We heard you the first time!" Naruto complained loudly. He adjusted the pack on his back and asked, "How long of a trip is this gonna be anyway?!"

"Oh... not long at all." Fukasaku replied cryptically before making some hand seals and causing a scroll to appear.

"Well, I've never heard of this place so it can't be too close!" Naruto retorted with a frown. "Hopefully they at least have some ramen around there."

"Don't worry about the food Naruto boy. Ma makes the best home cookin' in the entire realm." The sage toad forgot to relay the part about a toad's diet consisting only of grubs and insects.

"Hey! Kamaboko! Take care of Hinata, will ya' huh?" Naruto walked over and slapped his clone on the back just before he disappeared in a puff of smoke as Fukasaku reversed summoned him to Mt Myoboku.


	16. Hunting & Hiding Jinchuuriki

Hinata stood on the battlements at the top of the eastern facing wall, overlooking the sleeping village on one side and the tangled dark coniferous forest, that surrounded Konoha, on the other. Only feet away, Hanabi stood to her right and another kunoichi of the Long Eye to her left. It was midnight. The only time her father allowed clan training, while everyone else slept and the only ones who were awake to witness their secrets were the ANBU who took the night watch.

Only the white light of the harvest moon cut through the blanket of night that lay across the village. But for the Hyugas, light or no light was not a factor for visualization. The chilled October weather penetrated Hinata's lavender light jacket. She shivered. This far up, on top of the fifty foot wall, the temperature dropped another few degrees making the cool night cold.

Hinata's byakugan, which had become even stronger over the last few months as she gained more control over her chakra and Naruto amassed more power, showed her the brilliance of human chakra signatures spread out like a marked map throughout the entire village and then for a hundred miles outside of the village as far east as the next closest village. From her position, she could even see Kiba lying half in and out of his bed two miles deep into the village tucked within the Izunaka compound.

As they stood around the top of the village wall, the bows and arrows of the one hundred and twenty Hyuga kunoichi, who made up the Long eye unit, lit up with the chakra that was infused in the weapons. Their arrows flew deadly straight with incredible speed, some with bombs, drills, smoke, poisons, tranquilizers, and the more talented shinobi were able to use the signature jutsu of Hyuga kyudo, the gentle strike, which knocked out any chakra points within a few inches of the arrowhead. Since most Long eye shinobi aimed for the chest, the jutsu was usually deadly, causing paralysis and internal hemorrhaging within the affected area.

Their partners were on the ground spaced throughout the village. The gentle fist unit, who were connected to their wives and intended through binding seals, were the best at open fist close combat. Just a small tap could be enough to cripple an opponent completely. Some of them had 360 vision with only small blind spots at their back. But any blind spots that ever limited the byakugan were virtually eliminated by this partnered set up. Leaving their opponents without weaknesses to exploit.

Using Kamaboko's multi shadow clone jutsu, there were hundreds of enemy shadow clones also spread through out the village. In this particular drill, the goal of the Hyuga ninja on the ground was to incapacitate the shadow clones using juuken. The Hyuga shinobi on the wall aimed to hit as many of the bulls eyes that the shadow clones wore across their chests, as possible.

And Hiashi stood at the center of the village within the shadow of the Academy and near, Hanabi's partner, Shinji, and Naruto's sealed shadow clone, Kamaboko. Through the caged bird seal, he could access the sight of every ninja in the Hyuga shinobi unit sending instructions through their headsets to coordinate an effective attack.

Hours before Hiashi lectured Hinata and Kamaboko. "Since you are sealed to Naruto who has no byakugan, you will only be able to see through your vantage point. This blind spot was overcome in the past because most sealed to the jinchuuriki were also sealed to a member of the clan, but that will not be the case with you, Hinata. So you are going to access the caged bird seal along with Hanabi. Since you were once the heiress, you already have the mark and the training. It will cover the blind spot… but Naruto will need to be trained to use the fractured sight."

Hinata looked over at Hanabi. They nodded at each other focusing on the marks in the palms of their right hands. Hinata's vision fracture into the more than two hundred byakugan that the caged bird seal allowed her to access. Her mind had been trained for this. Her father forcing her to access the cage bird seals daily since she was very young. It became like processing the information from 360 sight. Now she was able to see the village not only from her own angle but from two hundred different angles.

She could clearly see her father standing with Kamaboko at the center of the city. Speaking into the headset she said, "Ok we have fractured sight."

Hiashi turned to Kamaboko, "Attempt to access Hinata's byakugan through the binding seal. Prepare yourself... when you see the fractured sight for the first time it will be overwhelming."

"Yeah ok." Kamaboko reached through the seal and accessed Hinata's sight. It was like looking directly into the sun. Lurching forward, he clutched his burning eyes. "Wha the?! Oww!"

He felt like someone just punched him in both of his eyes and he was seeing stars. Hiashi patted him on the back and then said sternly, "Do it again. This time, relax into it. Don't fight it. Allow Hinata to process the information for you."

Kamaboko reached through the seal again and accessed Hinata's sight. This time he took the burning and allowed into rush into his mind. He began to grunt as his mind felt like it was being stretched in two hundred different directions. Hiashi placed his hand on Kamaboko's shoulder. "Relax. Breath in and out slowly -like you are meditating."

Taking in the pain, the sealed clone began to breath slowly and finally his body relaxed. His vision expanded and instead of bright burning and flashing colors, he began to understand what he was seeing. There was Hinata standing on the eastern wall near the front gate and Hanabi was close by her. He said, with an odd sort of wonder. "I can see... everything."

"Good. Now we are going to try something." Hiashi said, not at all impressed and ready to get back to business. "There is a clone on the eastern training field number two. Do you see it?"

"Yeah. I got'em" Kamaboko replied.

"I want you to call Hinata and send her there. As soon as she has taken him out him, I want you to call her here to us." Hiashi stated.

"Ok." Kamaboko scratched the back of his head. Naruto had already mastered teleporting Hinata to a calling seal that was anchored directly to him, but he had not yet learned how to send her to other separated seals. But the calling seals only needed to be feet away from some portion of Naruto's chakra in order to anchor and open them. And Naruto's mastery of clones and ability to create a significant amount at one time allowed him to move the calling seals to several different locations at one time. This technique was similar to Naruto's father's Flying Thunder God technique, but the marks were clones and it would be Hinata who was transported. No prior Uzumaki had every used this technique before, but Hiashi had faith that Naruto could master this too.

Kamaboko spoke through the headset to Hinata. "Are you ready?"

"Yes." Hinata said confidently. She also had faith that Naruto... or his clone could do this. In the next second, a wormhole opened in front of Hinata. She stepped inside, though she had little choice in the matter. The force of Kamaboko's will reached out and basically placed her inside of the worm hole. Then she felt herself pulled and seconds later dropped through the calling seal on to eastern training field number two. Right in front of one of Kamaboko's clones.

Immediately, Kamaboko's clone came after her. Barely having time to react, Hinata spun, dodging a punch and landing a right hand chop on the back of the green haired clone's right shoulder. One tenketsu struck. She hit the shoulder again on the other side with a knife hand, closing another tenketsu. As she slid to the left, she struck one last time with a knife hand directly into the deltoid, stopping the chakra flow to that arm. The shadow clone compensated for a paralyzed arm and dropped into a low spinning kick to knock Hinata off of her feet. Hinata had the advantage of vision, however, and was able to see several different angles of this fight unlike the clone. She jumped over the kick, striking behind herself at the clone's forehead. An arrow pierced the clone's side from a Long eye shinobi who stood on the eastern wall above the fight. Poison flowed into the clone causing him to drop to his knees. Pivoting again, Hinata struck him in the back of the head. The clone collapsed, unconscious, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

As soon as the fight ended, Hinata felt herself pulled into another calling seal. This time she was dropped in front of her father and the real Kamaboko.

"Very good." Hiashi tapped Kamaboko's shoulder and then Hinata's shoulder, but he did not take his eyes off the fight in front of them. Shinji was using gentle fist on another Kamaboko shadow clone. An arrow from Hanabi's bow stuck out of the clone's left leg. Through the fracture sight, they all saw as Hanabi made the hand seals for the gentle strike. The clone's leg collapsed underneath him as Shinji struck him twice the chest. The clone fell back and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Very good..." Hiashi started but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of two ANBU through the village gates. The entire night, they had all seen the chakra of hidden ANBU, hidden in the trees outside the village or within shadowed corners along the village streets. But these two were no longer hiding. And they were dragging someone with them who appeared to be trying to resist but was not doing a very good job.

"Master Hiashi, sorry to interrupt." The ANBU thrust their prisoner at his feet when they finally made it to the academy steps.

Hinata gasped. It was the altered Hyuga. She had never seen him this close up before. He was nothing but skin and bones and the left half of his face was covered with a black leather half mask. But his right eye was round and white just like any other Hyuga and traces of their clan's trademark dark brown hair lay in sparse thin strands over his bald skull.

"We came upon him sneaking around the village. I know you have been looking for this particular shinobi for awhile now." The ANBU said.

Hiashi nodded silently, staring at the boy who only stared silently back at him. Finally he shook his head and said, "Yes... thank you. Leave him to us."

The ANBU let go of the boy, who collapsed to his knees, his thin crouched framed bent in a frightened posture on the ground. Hiashi waved the ANBU away and they disappeared. Then he slowly moved forward. The boy scuttled back but ran into Ko, who had been nearby and was pulled this direction by curiosity. Ko went to grab the young ninja but Hiashi raised his hand, indicating to stop. "We are not going to harm you, Neji. We've been looking for you for seventeen years. You are our precious nephew, grandson, and cousin."

Hiashi knelt down in front of the boy and stretched out his hands to him. "Your grandfather will be so happy to see you. And your cousins... and I'm, Hiashi, your uncle. Your father was my twin brother."

Neji leaned back but did not move again, allowing Hiashi to touch his face, removing the mask. Hinata gasped as the creature attached to her cousin's face was revealed. Hiashi examined the faded marks of the caged bird seal on Neji's forehead. "So this is how they kept you from us, Neji."

"My name is Sabui." The boy retorted, narrowing his one eye at the stranger.

"Sabui... right." Hiashi conceded, warily. He placed the mask back on his nephew's face and then stood up reaching his hand down. Sabui ignored the hand and looked around at the others.

"What do you plan to do with me?" He asked suspiciously.

"Tonight you will stay at your grandfather's house and then in the morning, we take you to the hokage to get permission for you to stay in the village and get to know your clan." Hiashi replied. He hit his headset. "Training is over for tonight."

"I'm not staying." Sabui stated. "I don't know you people and I don't want to know you people. You're not my clan or my family... there are others, who are waiting for me to return."

"Hey! You're talking about Sasuke, aren't you? You work for Sasuke... Where is he? Tell us, now!" Kamaboko demanded, coming up along side Hiashi. He angrily eyed the Akatsuki robe that Sabui wore.

"I might know where he is." Sabui replied coolly. "But I'd never tell the likes of you."

"Really?" Kamaboko glared down at the boy, ready to pummel him. "You selfish bastard! We're trying to help Sasuke. Just like Master Hiashi is trying to help you. The Hyugas ARE your family... they've been sad and searching for you for seventeen years. Just like Naruto has been searching for Sasuke. There are many of us, who wish we had a family to give a damn! If you cared anything about Sasuke... you wouldn't help him do all of the horrible things he has been doing!"

"And if you knew anything about Sasuke, you and your friend Naruto would quit chasing him." Sabui spat back.

Kamaboko balled up his fists and moved to punch some sense into the boy. Hiashi rest a hand on Kamaboko's shoulder, stopping him. "That's enough. Nothing is going to get resolved tonight. We will speak some more about this tomorrow morning. Ko, would you take Sabui to my father's house, please."

* * *

Killer Bee dragged himself out of the water and lay exhausted on the beach.

The Akatsuki were now so embolden that they dared to go after him?

His brother had spread so much propaganda about the eight tailed jinchuuriki's awesome prowess that he had not been challenged in several years. Bee was starting to get a little complacent. That was the only reason he did not drag those little twerps like he should have.

Luckily for him, the young ninjas seemed to know very little about the tailed beasts that they hunted. He was able to transform into Eight-i-o's severed tail while the eight tails clone was captured. Sasuke Uchiha and his team of misfits fell for it... hook, line, and sinker.

Sasuke had used a large portion of his chakra to incapacitate Bee with the amaterasu before finishing him off with a lightning blade. The Uchiha barely lived himself, after that. He appeared to be in bad shape. So the sensory chick who kept uncovering Bee's hiding spots during the fight, was too distracted by her injured leader to notice as their target's chakra sunk into the ocean with the tail.

They were quick to take the fake eight tails and leave while Bee stayed hidden underwater. He remained undercover for another hour until he was sure they were gone and then he dragged himself to the beach.

Killer Bee rolled on his back and smiled up at the sun. He should be grateful to them, actually. What an opportunity. Everyone, including his career stifling older brother, thought he was captured by the Akatsuki. He could take his time coming back to Kumo and maybe work on his bars, flow, and lyrical skills. "Ooo wee! What an opportune-i-tee!"

'Bee! I sense a major change coming to this world. We must get ready!' Gyuki warned his jinchuuriki as Bee stood up, wiped the sand off of his clothes, and then consider the path that would take him furthest from Kumogakure.

"I got it handled... don't you see... plenty of time to work on me... the change is my megacareer... so don't you fear... gonna get this rap thing into gear! don'tcha know know know know!" Killer Bee swung his hips to the beat in his head as he started south to find Sabu the enka ninja.

* * *

Kamaboko lay in Naruto's bed, angrily staring up at the ceiling. Watching Sabui reject his family had triggered several of Naruto's memories in the clone, the main one being the day Jiraiya told Naruto about his true heritage.

One year ago...

Jiraiya sat down at the picnic table across from Naruto and split the orange popsicle in his hand. Handing Naruto half, he contently licked the sweet tangy juice off of his fingers and then let the popsicle cool the top of his tongue.

"What took you so long?" Naruto complained, frowning as he ate his own popsicle. He had seen the cashier inside the small market, a petite brunette who batted her bright sandy eyes at Jiraiya, so he already knew the answer to that question. Jiraiya had not slept in their room for the last few nights. And if they stayed in this village, he probably would not tonight. What a pervert.

"Don't worry about it kid. You'll understand soon enough." Jiraiya waved his hand at his student nonchalantly. "Soon as you start going through puberty."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his master. He was turning sixteen tomorrow. He had started going through puberty awhile ago. Of course, he had no idea what was happening to him at the time... all those embarrassing dreams about Sakura had been almost traumatizing. But after three years and a couple of awkward conversations with Iruka sensei later, he had a pretty good idea. "Don't you know who old I am, old man?"

"Hummm... You must be almost fourteen by now. Am I right?" Jiraiya asked innocently.

Naruto stood up slamming his hands and the popsicle down on the table. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! I'M SIXTEEN TOMORROW!"

"Calm down kid. Just pulling your leg." Jiraiya laughed, though he truly could not remember if Naruto was turning fifteen or sixteen the next day. Luckily, he had gotten pretty good at pulling that type of information out of his student. "You have a very important birthday tomorrow. And we need to have a very important conversation... godfather to godson."

Inspecting his mangled popsicle to see if there was anything edible left, Naruto replied, "What do you mean, godfather to godson?"

"You're my godson." Jiraiya stated. "Your father and I were very close. He was also my student."

Stunned, Naruto looked up into Jiraiya's eyes. He only knew the name of one of Jiraiya's other students. "Which student?"

"You would know him as the fourth hokage. Minato Namikaze." Jiraiya reached inside of his shirt and pulled out a picture. He handed it to Naruto. The picture was of the fourth hokage standing with a red headed woman who appeared to be pretty far along into pregnancy. "This is your mother and father just before you were born. Your mother, Kushina, was the jinchuuriki before you. The night you were born... the seal that contained the nine tails weakened and the tailed beast escaped to attack the city."

"And the fourth sealed Kurama inside of me." Naruto finished, frowning. His fists clamped down on the popsicle, crushing it even further. He mumbled. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this before? Why would my own father do this to me?"

"He did it to protect you." Jiraiya said to Naruto. "He believed, you, his son, could control that power inside of you and use it to make this world better. I believe that too."

"But why would you wait so long to tell me about my parents!" Naruto yelled, tears starting to form in his eyes. He looked away from the photo. It was too painful to see the two people who he had long for, his entire life, in actually tangible form and not just a fantasy of blank faces in his mind.

"Lord third felt it would be easier to protect you from Minato's enemies if your parentage was kept secret. But I was not so sure. Around the time that you were born, another Uzumaki was kidnapped along with another child. So, naming you after your mother's clan was also putting a large target on your back. But I agreed you were too young to handle everything that came along with being their child. I convinced Lord Third that by your sixteenth birthday you would be ready to know the truth." Jiraiya stated. He could visibly see Naruto's anger growing by the second. "And I thought it would be best if I was the one to tell you. For the first three years of your life, you lived with me... You probably don't remember because you were so young, but you owe me for several foul diaper changes by the way... Anyway, when I was not in the village, Lord Third kept a very close eye on you. But you have to understand that we did everything that we did, in order to protect you."

"Don't tell me that! None of this was right! You and Old man Sarutobi not telling me about my parents! My own father turning me into this thing! I've never even seen my mother's face before! And you say that I lived with you for three years! Why did you leave me then? Why did you miss ten years of my life?! Do you know how horribly I was treated! How terrible and alone I felt ...all of the time!" Naruto's eyes were changing become fiery red and more fox like. "YOU LIED TO ME! YOU ABANDONED ME!"

His body began to bend and crouch into a miniature Kurama as the red chakra covered him, ripping at his skin and forming two tails at his backside.

"Kid calm down! It was not like that!" Jiraiya stood up and attempted to move towards Naruto to calm him. "We were trying to..."

Kurama roared, reached back and swiped at the Toad Sage knocking him several feet away into a tree trunk. A third tail sprout from Naruto.

Dazed and bleeding profusely from the wound inflicted across his abdomen, Jiraiya pleaded, "Naruto... you need... to calm down. This is not you.. this is the nine tails. I left because I still needed to become a man who was worthy of raising you. A man who you could emulate..."

Jiraiya passed out, his head lulling forward. Stalking back and forth, the fox began to slowly comprehend Jiraiya's words. Naruto's consciousness broke through the rage that Kurama was feeding off of, surpassing the tailed beast's hold again. He inspected the scene around him. Tilting his head to the right, he noticed Jiraiya lying limp and injured just feet away. The red chakra began to recede and then faded away. "Pervy Sage? Are you ok?"

Realizing his master was bleeding and unconscious on the ground from a severe injury, Naruto stood up and ran towards Jiraiya. "What the hell happened?!"

* * *

Naruto had been perfectly still for about an hour now. After a month, he had perfected his ability to enter "the stillness" to the point that even Master Fukasaku had trouble finding him at times. He usually liked to work on this particular skill close to meal time. Meditation helped quell hunger and if the toads could not find him, he did not have to endure another plate of cooked creepy crawlies. Yick!

"Naruto boy!" Master Fukasaku's voice traveled up to him from the bottom of the mountain. "I have something important to show you. Show yourself!"

Naruto opened his eyes. He hopped out of his cross legged position onto one foot, hitting the platform where he had been seated on the point of the mountain top and causing it to flip. Then he jumped the two hundred foot drop to the ground, landing on his feet with an impact that caused the ground to shake. "Master geezer toad, ya called?"

"Good to see ya Naruto boy." Master Fukasaku waved his webbed hand and hopped away. "Come on! Follow me please."

The old toad led Naruto to the section of Mount Myoboku that Naruto had been warned to stay away from when he first arrived. It was the section where Gamamaru, 'the great and honorable geezer toad', resided. He needed complete silence to witness his prophecies and any interruption was detrimental to the process. The sprinkling of statues that spread across the realm got much more concentrated in this region. And the statues were not all toads any more.

"What is this?" Naruto asked, looking around him at all the creepy statues that sat in this swamp. Some were immersed all the way up to the head. He felt like he was being watched and not in a friendly way.

Master Fukasaku stopped at one particular statue and looked up. "Do you recognize him, Naruto boy?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked at the statue closely. It did not seem all the way complete. And unlike the other statues it did not have any moss or swamp reeds decorating its surface. But even so, Naruto knew right away that it was Jiraiya. "Wow! Pervy Sage!"

"He has not all the way completed his transition... but he will soon be one with the infinite stillness." Master Fukasaku indicated the statue. "Jiraiya was the first human to complete Sage training here in Mount Myoboku. It is an arduous journey -not to be taken by the faint of heart. And he died as a Sage should... gutsy to the very end. Therefore he has been granted the rebirth."

Naruto frowned. "What is that?"

"A Sage can take two paths after death... one... die an unworthy death and be reborn in the mortal world to try again. Or two... die a worthy death and be reborn in this realm into 'the infinite stillness'. He will remain here until he is awakened by a certain event that the great and honorable geezer toad has predicted in the human world."

"So... Jiraiya is not actually dead?" Naruto asked confused.

"No. He died. But his spirit will live on immortalized in this statue. And his story is not yet finished." Master Fukasaku replied. "Jiraiya boy chose you as his successor because he was certain you could finish the path that he started when he came here to train as a Sage. He also believes that you are the student in Master Gamamaru's prophecy. The one who will call all of the Sages back to human realm and restore balance to that world."

"Really?" Naruto looked dazedly up into the stone face of his master. It seemed like in just those few seconds, Jiraiya's carving had become more defined. "How 'em I supposed to do that?"

"Well if I knew the answer to that, I'd do it myself wouldn't I, boy?" Master Fukasaku chuckled. "Jiraiya boy believed in you... so I'm certain you will figure it out, Naruto boy."

"Yeah, sure." Naruto replied.

* * *

Pain appeared through the village barrier early in the morning before the village was fully awake. Within seconds of arriving in the area, Tendo Pain took out the scouting team, who secured the perimeter of the village each morning at six am, before any reports of his arrival could be made.

Both the intel and the autopsy teams had been working hard through the night. Inoichi, Ikko, and Ino were in the interrogation room with the rest of the top interrogators in the village, attempting to break into the mind of the ninja who Jiraiya captured and sent back from the village hidden in the rain. So far, they had surmised that the Pains were created from corpses that somehow the man behind the six Pains was able to reanimate.

Shizune, who led the autopsy team, stood with Shikamaru, Shiho and Sakura going over the analysis of the metal rods. Based on their positioning in the body and Jiraiya's coded message the rods appeared to be how the man was controlling the Pains.

"They are chakra receivers." Shizune explained. "He has to be controlling them the way the sand puppeteers control their puppets."

"Which means he can never be too far away from them." Shikamaru stated.

"Sure." Shizune replied. "But these receivers are thick enough that he can be far enough away to stay well hidden."

"But he has to be sending chakra to the receivers." Shikamaru persisted. "Which means... anyone who can see chakra would be able to trace it back to his position."

Shiho pushed her glasses up her nose. "You are so smart Shikamaru! Anyone with a byakugan should be able to track down the ninja in no time."

Shikamaru shrugged, quietly, inching away from his fan club.

meanwhile...

All six Pains stood outside of the village with Konan. Nagato sent his instructions through Tendo Pain. "Chikushodo Pain will be launched through the barrier. They will detect her right away but will only sense one. Based on intel, once the barrier is penetrated but an invited outsider, the byakugan shinobi are called to the wall and the streets, first. This is good for us. We will need to take out as many of them first to ensure they cannot be used to find our weakness.

Once Chikushodo is inside, the rest of us will be summoned to her. Our objectives are to hunt for the nine tails and destroy the rest of the village. Anyone who gets in the way will be interrogated and killed."

Tendo Pain turned and waited as Asura Pain launched Chikushodo Pain into the air above the village and through the barrier. "Now the world shall learn what pain is."

She was sensed as soon as Chikushodo Pain flew through the barrier landing quietly in the center the village. When she landed, the other six were summoned into the village. "Scatter."

They each went their own way. Asura Pain sent missiles flying, exploding and destroying several buildings at a time. Chikushodo Pain summoned a large centipede that flew over the village, landing on buildings and crushing them. The other four and Konan hunted for Naruto through the city, interrogating and killing any one who entered their path.


	17. Pain's Attack!

**Warning: violent death depicted in this chapter. Not gruesomely bloody... but just in case.**

 **I own nothing... characters/** **settings/etc owned by Masashi Kishimoto.**

* * *

Leaning out of her open window, Hinata smelt the scent of windflowers planted in her grandfather's garden next door. The honeysuckle that dripped around her bedroom window framed had disappeared with the summer leaving a clear view out into the courtyard that separated the main family houses. In the quiet of early morning, a cool autumn breeze softly caressed her face as it made its way through the Hyuga compound. Hinata grasped the ring and locket that hung around her neck in her palm and wondered what Naruto was doing at this exact moment. If she focused hard enough, she could sometimes pick up inklings of him and Kurama. A shift in mood. A moment of sheer exhaustion, or elation. But then there were times when they both seemed to completely disappear and she could not sense Naruto at all, no matter how hard she tried.

A soft knock sounded at her bedroom door. "Hinata! Breakfast is on the table."

It was Hanabi. The young girl refused to go to the breakfast table anymore without Hinata by her side. Sabui's presence in the household had made everyone, with the exception of Hiro, feel uncomfortable. His hatred of them was palpable. During meals, he would just sit and leer, barely touching anything on his plate.

Hinata did not quite understand why Neji hated them so much. She was empathetic to how hard life had been on him. His entire physical being was testament to the misery. Living in this large house with servants and assistants at their beckon call, they all must have seemed to live a very spoiled and pampered life compared to his life. But it had not been easy. Her family was fractured by his disappearance. His own father gave his life because he could not endure the pain of losing his only child.

"Ok. I'm coming." Hinata called over her shoulder. But she barely made it across the room, before the first explosion rubbled through the village, shaking the floor of the house.

"Ahhh!" Hinata squeaked as she lost her balance and fell to the floor. "What was that?"

"Hinata!" Hanabi's worried voice came through the door again. "What's going on?"

"I'm ok. I'm coming." Hinata pulled the door open and grabbed her sister in an embrace as the house was shook again by another explosion.

Ko appeared in the hall headed towards the back of the house where Hiashi's office sat. "Lady Hinata, Lady Hanabi! The Long eye is being called to the wall. We are under attack!"

Hinata and Hanabi nodded at him quietly as he passed by to find their father. Then they ran out of the house, grabbing their bow and arrows.

Out in the Hyuga Compound, there was complete chaos. Half of the unit had made it out into the street and into the tunnel towards the wall. The other half was dealing with two of the Pains who had set their sights on the compound.

One of the Pains was able to absorb ninjutsu, which was completely useless against a Hyuga who fought almost completely with forms of taijutsu or bukijutsu. The other Pain, however, had powerful kinetic energy which made the Hyuga's skill set completely useless against him.

The second Pain took out shinobi in droves while the first Pain interrogated those who managed to survive.

"Lady Hinata… Lady Hanabi." A low voice hissed at them. Ahn, one of the four generals, appeared behind them. She grabbed their arms leading them away from the chaos towards the back of the compound. "We have to get to the wall. Let those on the ground handle this."

She led them to the tunnel at the back of the compound that ran all the way to the village wall. As they walked the length of the tunnel, the explosions continued, shaking the walls and causing crumbling rocks and dirt to fall around them. They activated their byakugans. The tunnel was pitch black, but it was the safest and quickest route to the wall, since no one outside of their clan and hokage knew about it. But exiting the tunnel, they came upon another Pain.

"Run! Get to the wall! Now!" Ahn shoved the two younger Kunoichi on towards the wall. She reactivated her byakugan and slid into a juuken stance, facing Pain.

"Is Naruto Uzumaki in this village?" The Pain demanded. "Tell me now."

"No way." Ahn raised her hands up in front of her, in two sharp knife hands. "No Hyuga has ever sold out a comrade of the leaf. And I will definitely not be the first today!"

Ahn pivoted forward for an open hand strike, but was blocked by Pain's forearm. She shifted right and swung again with another strike but this Pain was incredibly agile. She was blocked again. He turned and drew a long metal rod out of his right sleeve. Pain swung the rod at Ahn's head. She ducked and slid back flipping the bow from her backside and meeting his next blow with the rod with her weapon. Pain pivoted back and to the left before spinning and kneeing Anh in the side of the head sending her crashing into the ground. Pain pinned her head underneath him. "This is the will of fire, I see."

"What of it." Ahn choked out as Pain pressed down harder. Her eyes began to roll back in her head as the pain became unbearable.

"Eventually... you will succumb to my will." He continued to grind his knee into her head until Ahn's body finally went limp. Pain grabbed her around the neck and lifted her up off of the ground, squeezing.

Hinata and Hanabi stopped scaling the wall and turned back. Hinata whispered down to Hanabi. "We can't just leave her like this."

"If you don't answer my question, you will have no future." A large face appeared behind Pain, its mouth opened like a gapping hole.

Ahh slowly turned her head towards Hinata and Hanabi as they moved back down the wall. She shook her head slightly, signaling them to leave her.

"Will I find Naruto Uzumaki somewhere in this village, or won't I?"

"I have no idea. And I wouldn't tell you if I knew!" Ahn struggled to answer. Her voice weakened as Pain crushed her throat.

"I see. Then I shall pass judgement on you."

Ahn began to choke harder, her cheeks pouching out and her eyes bulging, as her tongue was released from her mouth. It grew like a large pink worm, as an arm appeared out of the mouth of the large face and grabbed Ahn's tongue, pulling.

"NO!" Hinata dashed forward with Hanabi at her heels. "Release her!"

The arm pulled the tongue all the way out of Ahn's mouth and delivered it to the larger mouth of the face. The face chomped on Ahn's tongue as the Hyuga hung limp in Pain's hand. He tossed her away like a rag doll.

"It seems like you truly did not know." The Pain turned slowly and inspected Hinata and Hanabi as they ran towards him, sliding into their fighting stances. He demanded,"You two! Where is Naruto Uzumaki?!"

"RASENGAN!" Both Kamaboko and Konohamaru appeared from behind some nearby rubble, tearing into the Pain with their balls of chakra. Before he left, Naruto had begun teaching Konohamaru the special technique. And Kamaboko continued the lessons in Naruto's absence. They were at the training field admiring Konohamaru's accomplishment when the explosions around the village started. Kamaboko could feel Hinata's fear through the binding seal and came running towards her location with Konohamaru at his heels.

The two leaf shinobi slammed the Pain into the wall with such force it created a large indentation and shattered his ribs and several internal organs. Pain slid to the ground, his head lulling forward in unconsciousness.

* * *

Tsunade stood over her desk grinding her fists into the wood. The two konoha elders, Homaru and Koharu, stood in front of the desk looking down their noses at her. It was no secret that they had not approved of her ascension to hokage. She was the fourth choice after all.

"We are not quite sure what to make of your recent poor judgement, Lady Hokage. Sending a team on a wild goose chase to seal the three tails on an anonymous tip. Sending some of our best shinobi on a futile recovery mission, for a rogue ninja like Sasuke Uchiha. And now... why would you call the jinchuuriki back to the village... the exact person these terrorists are looking for?" Koharu frowned and demanded.

"Because Naruto is the one who will save the village... his training at Mount Myoboku has prepared him for exactly this reason..."

Homaru scoffed. "The jinchuuriki is just a child... We, the council, think..."

"I don't give a damn what you think!" Tsunade lost the fight with her temper and punched down into the desk, cracking it in half. "I am the Hokage! Therefore, what I say is law! Naruto WILL be called back from Mount Myoboku. And as for you two!"

Tsunade rounded the desk, her face on fire. The two elders scuttled away from her quickly. But the hokage was quicker. She grabbed both of them by the collars and slammed them into the wall, knocking the few pictures to the floor with a "crash!" Hissing into their faces until they started to whimper, she whispered, "you two WILL stay out it! If I hear anything about you interfering, I will make sure you regret the few measly years you have left to live!"

Both the elders nodded in agreement quickly, and then slid to the floor as Tsunade let go of their collars.

"Go! Crawl and tell that worm, Danzo, what I just told you." Tsunade turned her back on the elders as they crawled single file out of the door. She pat the head of the toad on her desk. "Move quickly. Tell Master Fukasaku and Naruto that the village is under attack, and we need their help."

"Yes mi'lady." The messenger toad replied.

Tsunade nodded. "Now I must get back to the village. There will already be many who require serious healing."

She left her office for the roof. As the door closed behind her, movement occurred near the far wall. A ninja with a bandaged forehead, left eye and left arm suddenly appeared next to the messenger toad. He drew a sword and quickly sliced through the toad's neck in one swift motion.

* * *

Deep beneath the ninja academy, Danzo stood in front of a large sect of ninja. The foundation was made up of some of the fiercest and strongest among Konoha's elite ninjas. He looked up with his one unbandaged eye at the distant sounds of battle above him.

"Lord Danzo, what are our orders?" One of the masked ninja asked as he kneeled in front of his leader.

Danzo looked down at his unit. "We will do nothing."

"The Fifth Hokage is a naive little girl. She is plagued by her master's softness but has none of his wisdom. She won't listen to the council yet she, herself, lacks the necessary knowledge of Konoha's deeper history, and therefore she makes rash and poorly judged decisions. I've stopped the jinchuuriki's return to the village. The nine tails will remain safely out of the hands of the Akatsuki at Mount Myoboku. And we will remain down here until this Pain has destroyed the village and put Tsunade in her place. Then I will rise up as hokage. When the jinchuuriki returns to this new order, it will be time to wake the sleeper. Konoha will be without question the greatest power in the world."

* * *

Block and slap! The movements of frog kata were powerful and swift. Naruto dodged an opened hand strike from Master Fukasaku as they moved around each other so quickly the sparring sages appeared to be a blur of green and orange. Naruto had achieved sage mode and surpassed Jiriaya, able to control the natural energy infused in his body to the point where his toad features were only subtle.

But the combination of Master Fukasaku's stillness with Naruto's body, in order to obtain and store natural chakra, had been a complete failure.

'There are too many squatters in this body already!' Kurama would not allow the symbiosis. The power of Kurama's chakra knocked the elder toad from Naruto's shoulder every time they attempted to combine. The last time he was knocked away so hard, he completely blacked out.

"Very good, Naruto boy!" Master Fukasaku cheered as Naruto was finally able to get a blow through the elder toad's defenses. He had been quite impressed by how quickly Naruto was able to pick up these skills. It gave him hope that Jiraiya had made the right choice. But Naruto's sage mode still only lasted for minutes and they still had not figured out how to store more energy without Naruto having to stop to mediate every time.

'Something is wrong in the village.' Kurama's voice came to Naruto again. Since coming to Mount Myoboku, the tailed beast rarely forced his thoughts through Naruto's mental barrier, which had only grown stronger as he became more proficient with entering the stillness.

Naruto stopped moving and stood still. "What do you mean?"

'I sense fear and pain from the princess.'

"Master geezer toad! Something is wrong!" Naruto relayed urgently to the elder toad.

"What? Where?" Master Fukasaku looked around himself, confused.

"I mean in the village." Naruto focused on the binding seal. He picked up some of Hinata's fear as well. The intensity of it, even as far apart as they were, shocked him to the core. "We've got to get back!"

"Master Fukasaku." Another toad appeared in their sparring area. "Sachu, the messenger toad who you left with Lady Tsunade... his name has disappeared from the scrolls."

"Who would kill Sachu?" Master Fukasaku asked quietly of himself.

"From the amount of fear, I sense." Naruto stated, focusing on the seal again. "It has to be Pain."

"WHAT?" Master Fukasaku began hopping around excitedly. "We need to send a message to Ma. She is nearby the leaf village. She can summon us there with reinforcements."

"Yea sure." Naruto nodded. Whatever got them back to the village the quickest.

"But you aren't ready, Naruto boy." Master Fukasaku stopped moving and looked up at his student. "We still haven't figured out the meditation problem."

"Don't worry..." Naruto balled his fists determinedly. "I have an idea."

* * *

Lady Tsunade released her chakra delivery to Lady Katsuyu as she sensed the presence of the enemy approach the roof. The multiple ninja, who surrounded her, stood up and took defensive stances. There had already been several reports of dead and injured shinobi throughout the village. The six Pains decimated the center of the village and the Hyuga compound. The Izunakas and the Aburames had been able to back up the Hyugas, finally destroying two of the Pains... the one who absorbed ninjutsu and the mechanical pain who could fire missiles, and forcing Konan to retreat. The summoning Pain continued to cause the destructive explosions throughout the city with her enormous summonings. Three were down and two other Pains remained unharmed currently... Tendo Pain with the kinetic energy who was by far the most troublesome of the six Pains and a Pain who seemed to be able to draw the chakra right out of a physical body. He had been using his power to crack into memories of Naruto. Though these numbers were unreliable since intel had revealed that the Pains had ways of reviving themselves.

"This attack came at exactly the wrong time." Tsunade hissed to herself. Many of the stronger and more seasoned ninja were away from the village currently, Guy and his team were on a mission. Yamato was also away on a mission. And she had sent Kakashi to check into a few things in regards to her concerns about Danzo and his shady intensions. And her concerns seemed to be valid because there had been no sign of back up from the Root in response to the attack.

Sakura was running the hospital, and Shizune, Ino, Inoichi and Ibiki were still gathering and spreading intel about the Pains. Choji had made contact once. His father and the Akimachi unit were severely injured, and based on Katsuyu's assessment, a few of them would not survive. By the time Tendo Pain appeared on the roof, Tsunade had dispatched Katsuyu all the way across the village, and her shoulders bent from the amount of death and misery that she sensed.

"Six nose piercings and seven studs in each ear... that is him. The troublesome one." One of the masked ninja informed Tsunade as she stood up.

"You are?" She demanded.

"It's been a long time Lady Tsunade. The last member of the legendary sanin." The Pain spoke. His spiral eyes pierced deep into Tsunade's eyes. "You and I have something to discuss."

"Wait. You're that child aren't you?" Tsunade responded, inspecting the man with spikey orange hair, pale skin, and spiral lavender eyes. "One of the three who Jiraiya took in."

"So you do remember me."

Tendo Pain warded off a series of arrows with bombs and smoke and jutsu, which flew at him from the wall. With his kinetic energy, he stopped the attack midair and then pushed outwards, sending them flying away from him and causing the other ninja on the roof to have to shift their set positions in order to dodge the weapons.

"Should I kill more? Or will you talk?" Pain demanded.

Tsunade raised her hand signaling the archers on the wall to halt. They would never get through his ninjutsu anyway. And it would only incite further violence against them.

"Where is Naruto Uzumaki?!"

"No one knows." Tsunade replied, her facial expression giving nothing away.

"The Akatsuki now have all the other bijuu. So now the balance of power between the villages is no longer. It is meaning less to continue to harbor the nine tailed jinchuuriki. You are putting your other citizens in grave danger to protect just one."

"So your target really is Naruto then?" Tsunade asked.

"We will control all war by controlling the tailed beasts. You have bore witness to our overwhelming power today. If you cooperate, we would not be adverse to an alliance of sorts."

"There will be no alliance! You are only terrorists seeking to destroy the peace that our predecessors fought so hard to achieve and maintain!"

"You dare speak to a god with such arrogance!" A strong blast of power released from the Pain pushing the ninja on the roof back. His eyes opened wider, as he unleashed some of the power of the rinnegan.

"The leaf has done some terrible things in the past in the name of this village, but at no time have we ever matched your unforgivable actions here today!"

"I'll remind you one last time that you are speaking to a god. Your judgement is insignificant." Tendo Pain narrowed his eyes. "And, I'll ask again... where is Naruto Uzumaki?"

"We will never..." Tsunade started.

Tendo Pain waved his hand and interrupted. Information came to him from another Pain. "Never mind. It appears that Naruto is not here... Mount Myobuko."

"What? How?" Tsunade moved forward with her guard surrounding her. The shock of Pain's sudden change in demeanor drawing her forward.

"He is in the Toad's hidden village. I will linger here, no longer." Tendo Pain turned as though to walk away. "But before I go... I will leave you with... pain."

He floated up into the air above the village.

"Wait Pain! What are you up to!?" Lady Tsunade yelled after the shinobi. She felt panic rise up from her stomach and into her throat. He was not done yet, and she had a bad feeling that what was coming next was going to be a lot worse. Tsunade waved her hand again and another throng of arrows pummeled Pain. But this time, the arrows were met by an invisible barrier which seemed to have formed around the ninja.

"FEEL PAIN! ACCEPT PAIN! KNOW PAIN!" Tendo Pain chanted as he floated up so high that he became obscured by the sun. He opened up his arms, raising them towards the sky. "And now this world will feel the ultimate pain!"

"ALMIGHTY PUSH!" An extreme light came from the ninja in the sky, which blanketed the village followed by an enormous explosion that tore the entire area to shreds.

* * *

Lady Shima was drawn to the border of Konoha by the billowing smoke and earthshaking explosions even before the messenger toad reached her.

"Master Fukasaku sent a message! The Leaf is in need their reinforcements. He wants you to summon them here." The messenger toad hopped quickly from the teleporting pool to Sage Toad's side without delay and was still soaking wet.

Lady Shima nodded, curtly at the messenger and made her way into the village. "Gotta move quickly! This is bad, Pa! I'm coming!"

Just at the bright light hit the village, Shima formed the hand seals for her summoning. "Summoning Jutsu!"

She slammed her webbed hand down on the ground, and the summoning seal spread around her like an enormous and intricate spider's web. But because the summoning was so large, it took longer than usual for the travelers to arrive. The smoke of Pain's nuclear destruction was already clearing, by the time, those who were summoned appeared from Mount Myoboku.

* * *

"Naruto?" Urgently, Hinata unraveled herself from around Hanabi and sat up pushing the layer of crumbled rocks from atop of them. During Pain's almighty push, they had been on the wall, which was likely the safest possible position to be located during that explosion. The sisters had slid down together and only sustained minor injuries. Many shinobi were just barely saved by a nearby Lady Katsuyu using her body as a cushion for the impact. But Hinata could also see many crushed bodies underneath the rubble from those who had not been so lucky.

As soon as Naruto appeared in the village she felt him. But his presence was very different. He had always felt magnetic to her, but now the pull was like a force of nature. Hinata activated her byakugan as she leaned up to see what had happened, and she spotted him on top of the head of Gamakichi who was seated upon Gamabunta's head. Two other enormous toads, whose size only matched Gamabunta's size, also stood with them. Their enormous weapons in hand.

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. No one else would have to die today. She was certain.

A calling seal opened up next to them. Hinata grabbed hold of Hanabi and let herself be pulled into the seal. They reappeared across the village in some rubble nearby Kamaboko. He sat over Hiashi, who had been injured by some falling debris. Lady Katsuyu lay over top of him healing him.

"Father!" Hinata and Hanabi moved to Hiashi's side. He opened his eyes just slightly to acknowledge them.

"He was hurt pretty badly, but he will be ok. Lady Hinata. Lady Hanabi." Lady Katsuyu reassured the two young ninja. Kamaboko placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder and smiled at her kindly.

* * *

Naruto looked from left to right, around the length of the enormous crater in which they now sat. He demanded, "Where the hell are we? We're supposed to be in the hidden leaf village!"

Shima sighed. "This is the hidden lead village."

"WHA!" Naruto and Master Fukasaku exclaimed in unison.

Shima pointed to a man floating down from the sky. "That Pain! He destroyed... everything."

In sage mode, Naruto could feel every chakra signature within the radius of the village. He said solemnly. "There are so many dead..."

"But no more have to die today." Master Fukasaku stated firmly.


	18. The Toad Sage Of Mount Myoboku

**Computer has not been working, so it took me awhile, but finally finished this next part...**

* * *

Half dragging himself through the rubble, Shikamaru crawled his way to Shiho's lifeless body. Before the nuclear explosion, one of the six Pains ambushed them as they made their way from the academy. It was the Pain with the long hair, who had the ability to pull all of the chakra out of a living body. He also appeared to have the ability to sort through and manipulate subconscious thoughts as well. In the chaos of a thrown smoke bomb, he got ahold of Shiho and was able to pull Naruto's current location out of her. Since she was a part of the main intel gathering team, she was one of the few privy to Naruto's visit to Mount Myoboku. It only took seconds. And before Shikamaru's shadow manipulation could reach the Pain, the enemy shinobi disappeared into a cloud of smoke, summoned outside of the village again.

The explosions stopped as Shikamaru ran to Shiho's side. The enormous summonings that had been destroying the village disappeared in clouds of smoke too.

"What is going on?" Shikamaru asked himself. He had a very bad feeling that something devastating was about to happen. He was just relieved he was able to evacuate Kurenai earlier. At least he had that peace of mind.

Then nuclear devastation occurred, knocking Shikamaru back and unconscious. Moments later, he awoke again, as the dust cleared, with Lady Katsuyu surrounding and protecting him. Despite the slug's help, one of his legs was broken. He sat up and looked around at the desolation in the village. By the time his father found him, he was seated hopelessly staring at Shiho as her lifeless and half crushed body lay in his lap.

"I couldn't save her." He said absentmindedly to Shikaku. Shiho's crushed coke bottle glasses lay just feet away. He just wished she would open her eyes and look at him in her annoyingly lovey dove way once more.

Shikaku placed his hand on Shikamaru's shoulder and squeezed. He took Shiho's body from his son and gravely examined Shikamaru's bloodied clothes. "Your leg appears broken. Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"I don't think so." Shikamaru shook his head. He shaded his eyes and looked out of the rubble towards the crater at the center of the village as some forms appeared there. It was too far to make out who they were, but they appeared to be large enough for him to see them from his position. "Who is that?"

Lady Katsuyu slid to Shikamaru's side. "Naruto has mastered sage mode and has made it back from Mount Myoboku."

"What?" Shikamaru looked up. "He's not going to..."

"He is facing Pain now." Katsuyu informed them.

"That fool! He can't face Pain by himself." Shikamaru struggled to get up with his broken leg.

"Well you will definitely not be any help." Shikaku indicated his son's injuries. "Besides, if Naruto has mastered Sage jutsu, he has the ability to take on Pain. He is the only one of us who does. So the best thing we can do is give him the information that he needs and stay out of the way."

"He at least needs our intel... what powers he's about to face... that the real Pain is not among them... that the Pains are manipulated by the metal rods."

"Lady Tsunade is giving me too him. I will relay all of that information." Katsuyu replied.

* * *

Tsunade held tight to the guard who carried her to Naruto's position on the battlefield. She had used her entire reserve of chakra to do what she could to protect her people during that explosion and to heal those she could in the aftermath. But there were so many injured, she could feel herself losing consciousness. Still she was the hokage, she had to stand and fight with her shinobi.

"Don't worry. I have this." Naruto landed next to her from Gamakichi's head. "Don't bother yourself with the likes of this scumbag. Just sit back and relax, Granny. Let me handle the rest."

Tsunade's head nodded forward slightly. She wanted to argue but her energy was sapped. Weakly she conceded, "you have this... I leave Pain to you..."

"Gamakichi take the fifth hokage somewhere safe." Naruto commanded. "And tell the rest of the village to stay out of this... I can't be distracted protecting anyone else during this fight."

"Yes. ok." Tsunade replied weakly. "But take Katsuyu. She can fill you in on the intel collected... it will help you..."

"Yeah. Sure." Naruto took the small slug from the fifth hokage and placed her within his clothes. "Hang on tight, Lady Katsuyu."

"Yes sir!"

Lady Tsunade passed out within Gamakichi's grasp as he carried her out of the crater up into the rubble above.

"Ready, Master Fukasaku?" Naruto turned back to the fight, as the two sage toads hopped up onto the scroll that he carried across his back. He appraised the Pain who finally floated down from the sky and stood in front of him as they were joined by the four remaining Pains. The mechanical Pain was already crushed to pieces and buried during the explosion.

"Only one has been taken out." Master Fukasaku said hesitantly. He had hoped more damage had already been done. "This will be a tough fight."

Katsuyu whispered Shikamaru's message word for word after he insisted she pass it along as quickly as possible. "The spikey haired pain has the ability to regenerate the others. He should be taken out as quickly as possible. The girl is a summoner. Her summonings are troublesome but have no chance against Gamabunta and his henchmen. The tall chubby faced Pain absorbs ninjutsu, his weakness is taijutsu. The long haired pain has the ability to remove chakra. We have no idea about his other skills but he is a slick one... so watch him closely. And the most dangerous Pain is at the center. He is the one who demolished the village. He has kinesis and this push pull jutsu that once you get trapped in.. there is no overcoming it."

"Got it." Naruto responded.

"Most importantly... there is a seventh Pain. The real Pain. He is still missing. We know he controls the six others with those metal rods by sending chakra signals. If the chakra signals can be followed they may be able to lead us to his position."

"Gotcha." Naruto looked over at the toads. "Ok. Let's do this."

* * *

Sabui was the only one in the village who was aware of Pain's planned attack. He got up early that morning and left through the village gates to wait and watch from the safety of the surrounding woods, where he had allowed himself to be captured by some black ops ninja the week beforehand. Pain was going to destroy the village to get to Naruto, and Sabui had no desire to be collateral damage. He long deduced from the jinchuuriki's absence by Hinata's side that Naruto was not presently in the village. This meant the attack was going to be brutally painful. He could have easily gotten a message to the Akatsuki and perhaps prevented the entire event, but that was not his job. And he could care less about Pain's quest or the massacre that he brought down upon the village. Sasuke had sent Sabui to infiltrate the Hyuga clan and to get to Hinata, so that was his only goal.

After Pain's nuclear explosion, Sabui made his way back inside to see what was left. In terms of the village's structures... absolutely nothing. But in terms of human life... more than expected. He spotted the main Hyuga family among the rubble closest to the eastern wall and avoided them by going the other way, hugging the enormous crater where Naruto and three gigantic toads fought the Pains.

The gigantic ninja toads were fighting the summoning creatures created by one of the Pains. Naruto had already incapacitated one of the remaining five. The body lay broken at the edge of the crater. Sabui activated his byakugan to be able to see the fight. Now the jinchuuriki was producing an enormous amount of dangerously powerful chakra in a sort of controlled wind storm above his head. The chakra was miles from him, but Sabui could still hear it slicing the air. It took the shape of a shirunken. Sabui had watched him attempt to control this jutsu for months almost a year ago, and now suddenly Naruto had enough control to toss the jutsu at the Pains like an actual weapon.

Sabui shook his head. He had never had any formal training except for the bits and pieces that Orochimaru chose to teach him, but he could see plainly through his byakugan that Naruto's chakra had changed. It appeared more like Jugo's chakra... pure, strong, and fully connected to the world, though it did not control him like Jugo's chakra controlled him. Naruto had total control over it.

Three of the Pains were able to dodge the massive chakra thrown at them, but the one with the long hair got stuck, his body ripping to shreds as the chakra hit and expanded.

Sabui squinted. That jutsu had managed to drain most of Naruto's natural chakra. He appeared to be slipping back into his normal self and there were still three Pains left. Despite himself he was getting caught up in what was to be the outcome of this fight. "What is he going to do now?"

"Ah." Sabui watched as one of the smaller toads, who had been watching from the sidelines up until now, produced a large sand storm. As the sand cleared Naruto and the female Pain seemed to disappear. But with his byakugan, Sabui could see they were inside of the mouth of one of the larger toads. "Nice trick."

The summonings disappeared as Naruto and the Pain slid out of the Toad's mouth. She was down. Two more to go.

* * *

Master Fukasaku grabbed the large scroll from Naruto and unrolled it. He moved quickly, knowing Naruto could only hold off the remaining Pains for so long. Summoning one of the shadow clones that Naruto had left at Mount Myoboku to store his sage chakra, he shouted, "Reverse the jutsu!"

Naruto ended the clone jutsu and the shadow clone disappeared sending all of its chakra back into Naruto just in time to block a strike from Tendo Pain, knocking him backwards onto his backside. Naruto produced two more clones to form his wind style rasenshuriken and launched it at the Pain who just attacked him.

"YES!" Naruto clutched his fists together as he watched jutsu slice through the air towards its target. If the pain got caught, it was over. That was the Pain, who Shikamaru said was the most dangerous. Maybe this fight was not going to be so tough after all. But unfortunately, Naruto forgot about the first set of instructions that Shikamaru had sent. _'The spikey haired pain has the ability to regenerate the others. He should be taken out as quickly as possible.'_

The Pain, who could absorb ninjutsu, appeared out of nowhere. He put his body in between the wind style rasengan and Tendo Pain absorbing all of the impact until it disappeared.

"Dammit!" He had only gotten the best of this particular Pain before because the Pains were unaware of frog kata's use of extended chakra. They wouldn't fall for that trick again.

"But what about that other one... the dangerous one." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Tendo Pain. "He has not used a single one of his abilities."

Katsuyu replied from within his clothes. "Maybe he is unable to use his ability for an extended period of time after that large explosion he just created."

"Maybe... But right now the most important thing is getting rid of the one who can regenerate the others." Naruto thought for a second. "We need to do this quickly before the dangerous one recovers his abilities."

* * *

Hinata watched anxiously from the rubble by the eastern wall. It had taken both Hinata and Kamaboko holding her arms to keep her from running out onto the battleground to help Naruto after she saw the other four pains show up.

"You can't interfere." Kamaboko warned Hinata. "I won't let you. If you go out there now, you'll be putting my original at risk."

Hinata gave up resisting eventually. She could not read Naruto's mind, but she could sense that he was not wanting help. Still neither her sister nor Naruto's sealed clone would let go of her arms... just in case. It was a good thing too, because after Tendo Pain recovered his power and sent Gamabunta and his gigantic henchmen flying out of the village, Hinata was ready to run out there again.

Naruto was able to take out one more Pain before this turn of events by using a transformation to trick the Pains and keep them from dodging his rasenshuriken. But there were still two Pains left, and they had all realized by then that Naruto's sage mode would only last for so long.

"Naruto." Hinata gasped, as they watched him get caught in Tendo Pain's pull. Naruto flew across the crater towards the Pain, stopped only by the second Pain grabbing Naruto in a headlock to prevent him from moving. "They've captured him... and he's..."

The second Pain... the Pain with the ability to absorb ninjutsu was pulling all of the natural chakra from Naruto's body. Hinata struggled against Kamaboko and Hanabi again. "We have to do something."

She looked over at Kamaboko, who had tapped into Hinata's byakugan in order to see the fight. Kamaboko shook his head at her. "No. Be patient. The original will figure it out. Believe it."

They continued to watch as the second Pain absorbed more and more natural chakra from Naruto. Until something started to happen to his body. The Pain began to slowly turn into a toad and then began to petrify.

"He's turned into a... toad statue." Hinata frowned.

"I told you he would figure it out." Kamaboko smirked. "One pain left."

Not flustered at all by the defeat of his last remaining comrade, Tendo Pain used his pull again. This time on Master Fukasaku who had been sitting with Lady Shima to the left collecting natural chakra. Hinata gasped again as she watched the toad fly across the crater into Tendo Pain's hand. He squeezed until the toad's body fell limp. Naruto leaped at them but was also caught by the pull. Pain dropped Master Fusakau and grabbing Naruto's neck with his other hand, slamming him into the ground. The hard dirt cracked underneath Naruto sending chunks up into the air. Pulling a rod from his sleeve, Pain slammed it down into Naruto's hands, pinning him to the ground.

* * *

"Now that you have been tamed, I am going to tell you why I am here. Why I have destroyed this village to get to you." Pain kneeled over Naruto as the jinchuuriki struggled to release his hands from the rod in the ground. "What I want is to create peace and bring about justice to this world... to fulfill the dream our sensei left to both of us."

"Peace and Justice! You've got to be kidding me! You are nothing but a murderer!" Naruto growled up into Tendo Pain's face.

"Tell me... how do you plan to accomplish Jiraiya's dream?" Tendo Pain tilted his head curiously at Naruto.

"I'll figure that out after I KILL YOU!" Naruto spat at the shinobi who held him captive.

Pain scoffed. "You have already fallen into the trap of these old ways, jinchuuriki. You want your revenge? And after you kill me, who will deliver justice for my friends and family... for my village? You think you are the only one who has people who care about you and who you care about? Your village has as much blood on its hands as all the others. Why do you get to have justice? While my people suffer the loss? There is only one way to have peace. And it is to unit the opposing villages... by force. I am the god who will deliver this justice. Let go of this will of fire... submit to me."

"I will never submit to you."

"Ok... so what is your answer... how do you plan to bring peace to this world?" Tendo Pain stood up and asked again. "Give me the answer that Jiraiya sensei never had. Change my mind."

Naruto looked down at the ground. He had no answer to Pain's question. It was the same question that had been rolling around his own head ever since Jiraiya's death. "I don't know."

"That is why the Akatsuki was formed. I can do this... I can put an end to the hateful wars -to all of this useless fighting. But I need the nine tails to do it. Together all nine tailed beasts will create a weapon only controlled by me as its jinchuuriki. No one will be able to oppose me and my will. The terror this weapon will inspire, will tame this world and force peace upon it. Pain and fear is the only way peace can be achieved."

"NO! You're wrong!" Naruto shook his head. "There IS another way."

"Just know, your death won't be in vain, jinchuuriki." Pain pulled another rod from his sleeve.

* * *

Letting go of Hinata's arm, Kamaboko looked at her and growled, "I agree now."

"Huh?" Both Hinata and Hanabi looked back at him, confused.

"It's time we did something."

"But!.." Hanabi started. She looked over at their father, who was still unconscious, for help. "Hinata, you'll get killed!"

"No." Hinata used her freed hand to pry her sister's fingers from her other arm. "I can do this. I'm a lot stronger than I use to be, and Naruto would never let me fight alone. He is my partner, my comrade... he is the man I am going to marry. I have to go down there, now!"

"Are you with me?" She asked Naruto's sealed clone. Kamaboko nodded in agreement but did not respond. Instead, he made the hand seals and said, "Multi shadow clone jutsu!"

Twenty of Kamaboko's shadow clones appeared from the eastern wall, running down into the crater towards Pain and Naruto. One of the clones in the front produced a calling seal, transporting Hinata down into the crater with them. Hinata leapt up into the air, striking down at Tendo Pain with an open palm strike that exploded the hard ground underneath them. Pain dodged just in time but had to move away from his query to do so.

"Hinata! Leave!" Naruto demanded angrily from the ground. He struggled against Pain's chakra rods, attempting to free himself to get to her. "Kamaboko, you idiot! I command you to take Hinata away from here!"

"No." Hinata slid her feet apart into a juuken fighting stance. "Kamaboko will not take me away… not until we both walk away from here, alive!"

Hinata reached through the binding seal connected to Naruto's sealed clone, pushing her resolve into him. She looked at Kamaboko and said, firmly, "We're here to break Naruto free of the rods."

Kamaboko looked back and forth between his creator and Hinata. He was only limited by an inability to act against Naruto, helping Hinata save Naruto was obviously not included in that. His eyes stopped on Hinata. Nodding his head in reply, again he did not respond. He swiftly made hands seals. "Multi shadow clone jutsu!"

"NO!" Naruto yelled as a fifty more Kamaboko clones surround them. Spreading out throughout the crater, they began creating calling seals.

The veins bulging angrily around her white eyes, Hinata raised her open hands and focused on the mark on her palm. Fractured vision activated so she could access the byakugans of the spectators in the rubble above. Now she could see all angles of Pain, and every clone and seal that surrounded them.

"What is this?" Pain asked annoyed. He had the nine tails captured and then these two kids showed up. They did not look like much at first. A Hyuga… what could she do against his push and pull? She should have figure out she had no chance after he all but destroyed her clan early that day. And also some strange kid with green hair -who looked like the nine tail jinchuuriki's underachieving brother. But this jutsu was strange. He could feel the power of the calling seals surrounding him. He had never seen anything like it before.

Hinata dove towards Pain like she was about to attack him but at the last minute was pulled into a calling seal near an attacking clone. Pain struck at her but hit the oncoming clone. Hinata reappeared through another seal close to Naruto and kicked through one of the rods that pinned him. Pain stabbed Kamaboko's clone through the chest and came at Hinata. She disappeared into another calling seal. Reappearing behind Pain, he closed his eyes and pushed. She was tossed back into another calling seal, reappearing over Naruto again. She kicked at another rod, knocking it free.

"You and your friends don't listen very well jinchuuriki!" Frustrated Pain looked around. He had to find the real green haired ninja. Once he was gone, Pain could take out the girl. Sliding towards Hinata again, Pain blocked her strikes until he forced her back from Naruto. She went through another seal. He watched the clones to see which one sent her.

The one who made the hand seals was further back, attempting to hide among the others. He acted as though he was about to turn to go after Hinata again and at the last minute, pulled that particular green headed shinobi towards him. "Your attempts to hide have failed."

"RASEGAN!" Two Kamaboko clones came at him from both sides. Tendo Pain managed to dodge most of the impact of their balls of chakra, but the Pain's body was still twisted and knocked awkwardly by the powerful strikes. Shockingly resistant to physical blows, Tendo Pain recovered quick enough to pull and toss a metal rod like a dart, sending it straight through the body of the real Kamaboko.

Kamaboko dropped backwards to the ground like a dead weight, moaning as the rod pierced through his torso and staked him into the ground. He began to bleed profusely as the rod hit a vital organ, and the clones and seals began to disappear. Hinata had managed to get Naruto's legs free while Pain was concentrating on the sealed clone, but half of Naruto's upper body and his hands were still pinned. Too much of Pain's chakra still flowed into him and he still could not move.

Pain turned and looked at her. "You're done now, girl."

Using telekinesis, he picked her up, taking her feet up into the air and then with significant force pressed her back down towards the ground.

"HINATA!" Naruto yelled, struggling to pull his hands up through the rod to get free. He could not feel the physical pain anymore, only the pain of seeing Hinata about die right in front of his eyes.

But Kamaboko was not completely dead yet. He used the last of his energy to create another calling seal. Hinata was pulled into the seal before she hit the ground.

Naruto's head fell forward. He thought, 'thank god'. How could he be so completely useless after all of that training? His sealed clone was dead. He could not access the rest of his sage chakra. And Hinata would not even listen to his pleas to run away and leave him. He mumbled, "Hinata please… just leave me."

Deep inside of himself, he heard a deep voice rage through his mental block, "LET ME OUT!"

Hinata appeared again over Kamaboko's limp body. She slid back into her fighting stance. "I'm not done yet! Remember! My nindo is the same as yours! I never go back on my word… no matter what! I will save you, Naruto!"

Hinata ran forward, trying to get to Naruto, but was pulled back towards Pain. She struggled as she was caught in Tendo Pain's pull, but the fight was futile. As she flew into his hands, Pain grasped her around the neck and squeezed, crushing her throat. She struggled in vein against his hand turning her head to look at the blond ninja lying on the ground close by. She used her last bit of energy to mouth three words... the words she had wanted to say to him before he left for Mount Myoboku but had not gotten a chance. Then she passed out. Hinata's head lulled forward and her body fell limp. Pain shook her like a rag doll while observing the shear agony that visibly took over Naruto's face. He said, gravely, "Naruto, you really loved this girl didn't you? And she obviously loved you. It was just like this when my parents were killed right before my very eyes by Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. And because of the existence of love, sacrifice is born, which gives birth to hate... and then, one finally comprehends… one truly knows pain."

Moving back towards the dead sealed clone, Pain slammed Hinata down on the rod that protruded out of Kamaboko's stomach, so they both lay staked together to the ground. "Yes Naruto. Know pain."

Hinata's waning presence was felt through the binding seals. And Naruto's pain and anger was only matched by Kurama's pain and anger as the tailed beast felt her drift away too.

A huge blast of power exploded from Naruto as Kurama's red chakra flowed out of his body, surrounding him and consuming him.

'HE HAS KILLED HER!' Kurama roared from deep inside of Naruto. 'WE HATE HIM! WE WILL DESTROY HIM! HE WILL WISH HE WAS NEVER BORN!'

Pain took a step back, hesitating. In awe, he said, "So this the power of the nine tails… It's pure rage."

The chakra storm that poured out of Naruto was enough to rip several grown men to pieces. Naruto pulled himself out of the ground, breaking the rods like they were twigs. His body twisting and bending into a fox with six tails. The skin being ripped piece by piece from his body.

Several smaller nine tailed foxes dashed out of the beast forming from Naruto's body. They dashed at Kamaboko, consuming his body and his seal, while breaking Hinata free of the rod that pierced through her abdomen. The red chakra surrounded her body, encasing her in a hard protective structure.

The ground underneath them shook breaking loose, and enormous roots pushed their way up through the hard granite, as Kurama shot stone after stone at Pain. Pain blocked and pushed every stone away, but then he found himself being pounded into the ground by an enormous slab of granite, until he was buried up to his neck.

Pain narrowed his ringed eyes and demanded, "Do you hate me now?! How much pain do you feel?"

Pain was pulled up out of the ground, landing on his feet. His body surprisingly unscathed. "Do you still think people can truly ever understand each other without shear terror at their heels?"

Dark clouds gathered above them, lightning struck the ground as more red chakra streamed from the sky. An enormous bijuu ball dropped like an atomic bomb on the area where Pain stood. The enemy shinobi consumed by the blast and the residual billowing smoke.

The nine tails narrowed his sharp red eyes, crouched, and growled, as he stalked towards the area that Pain was last seen, until he finally appeared out of the smoke abruptly. Just barely dodging the clutches of an enormous chakra hand, Pain slammed his fist into the ground, cracking it open.

"Just know you'll never feel as much pain as me!" The impact of the punch drove deeper into the ground causing a geyser from the underground hotsprings to sprout and fill the crater like a lake.

A chakra hand reached out from the beast and picked up Hinata encased in the chakra prism, placing her on Kurama's back. Then he took off after Pain, whipping chakra arms at the shinobi like swords. One finally hit him with such force it tossed Pain like a flea into a slab of granite that stuck up out of the water. His body flattened against the rock with the force.

Not nearly finished, Kurama shot chakra balls at Pain which were barely blocked by a kinetic shield.

"That's all you've got!" Pain taunted, though he was being pressed like a pancake to the slab by the sheer force of the chakra that Kurama shot at him.

Bones sprouted out of Naruto now, forming the bony armor of a fox over his head, spine, and extremities, which wove into the chakra prism that held Hinata. Kurama roared his rage reaching more chakra hands out towards Pain to pummel him and forcing more chakra out of the seal in Naruto's body. Frustrated, the tailed beast snatched the first hokage's necklace that Naruto wore around his neck and crushed it. A seventh tail began to sprout out of Naruto's rear end. The nine tails roared even loader as the flesh of the beast began to form over the bone.

Weak after losing blood, Hinata finally struggled to regain consciousness and opened her eyes. Unlike Komobako, the rod had not hit a vital organ, but she still hemorrhaged a fair amount. And though what she saw through the haze of Kurama's chakra shook her to the core, she was too weak to do anything to stop the situation. All she could do was mumble, "Kurama... please stop... I love him", before she passed out again.

The tailed beast paused, hearing the words coming from his chakra coffin. A guttural word slipped clumsily from Kurama's surprised tongue. "Hinata…"

Pain laughed a cruel laugh as he felt the awesome power that pressed against him from the tailed beast. It would soon be his power. "The nine tails' power -how beautiful!"

Kurama's head snapped back to Pain, the ecstasy of vengeance taking over his mind again, and he began to growl, stomping at the ground and kicking chunks of rock up behind him. He was readying to pounce on his prey. The seven tails stretched from his backside reaching to strangle and skewer Tendo Pain.

"Unh, unh, unh." Pain shook his head, taking off east and away from the village with Kurama on his heels.

* * *

"What is going on down there!" Sakura placed a hand over her eyes to shield the sun and strained to see. There were several huge explosions and then water began to pour… everywhere, but she could not make out Naruto, his clone, Hinata or Pain any more.

"He's transformed." Han stated. With his byakugan he was able to see the entire fight. "Lady Hinata… she tried to save Naruto. She and the sealed clone… they are… dead."

In shock, Sakura looked over at Han and whispered, "Oh no."

"Naruto flew into a rage and it triggered Kurama to take over. He already has seven tails."

"Seven tails!" Sakura stated alarmed. The last time at Orochimaru's hide out, it had only been five and they just barely got him back under control. "And without Hinata… we'll never... we have to get a message to Yamato. He is the only other one who has any ability to pull Naruto out of it. Naruto is dangerous... maybe even more so than Pain. He will attack and kill anyone who gets in the way in that state."

"Don't worry." Hiro appeared behind them. He hobbled out of the rubble covered in dirt and soot.

"Father, you're ok!" Han turned and spotted the elder, sighing with relief.

"What do you mean, Lord Hiro?" Sakura asked.

"There is a fail safe to Hinata's binding seal." Hiro stated. "Kurama will not be able to bypass it completely."

* * *

Nagato coughed up blood onto his boney chest. The muscles in his neck were so emaciated from the amount of chakra that he continuously filtered into his six Pains that he could not hold his head up for an extended period of time.

They were hidden inside a tree like structure that was made up of Konan's paper mache at the top of a nearby mountain. He had been so close to capturing the nine tailed beast and now everything seemed to be going to hell. His only option was to taunt and lure the tailed beast closer to his location while he gathered enough chakra to preform the forbidden jutsu, planetary devastation.

"You're not going to survive this... you're using too much chakra already." Konan warned. Nagato's massive chakra reserve only went so far. His body may have built up an impressive resistance to the damage that siphoning one's chakra into other entities created, but he was still mortal and he was close to his limit.

"The only way to stop the nine tails now is with planetary devastation." Nagato replied wearily. "All of this will mean nothing unless I see this through."

Konans wiped at her comrade's mouth. "All of this will mean nothing if you kill yourself."

"Don't worry. This will work."

* * *

Kurama growled and snarled from inside his cage, his eyes peering out the open gate at Naruto, who lay limp within the water that covered the floor of the chamber.

He started to pace again. Half of him was ready to take that kid for all he was worth… his soul, his body, his entire essence. The other half of him was thinking of Hinata and remembering her words. "Please stop... I love him."

He stopped the pacing and moved towards the cage opening again, stopping at the threshold and unable to cross. In his one thousand years, he had never encountered this type of dilemma. Well… that was not true. He had once before. But it never crossed his mind that she was the reason that he never left this opened cage, even after Minato's seal was broken.

Airi Otsutsuki. He had not thought of her in almost a millennia. She was the only one who had ever stopped him from taking what he knew was his to take. She was the only being, whom he had ever more than just tolerated -maybe even cared for. Since her time, he had been used for so long for the hateful agendas of humans that he forgot that there was anything else to this world. But if the princess was Airi's reincarnation… did that make this kid… Asura?

Kurama narrowed his eyes at the boy lying in the water. He had heard all of those humans around Naruto continue to blather about all of his potential. About how they had so much faith in this puny kid. He had even heard it from his father... that twit, the fourth hokage. After Minato dared to seal the great Kurama in an infant sixteen years ago, the fourth hokage's final words before he was skewered through the belly by Kurama's claw were, "Naruto will tame your hatred one day, fox…"

But in all these years, Kurama had never seen much in this jinchuuriki. He had thought Minato's words were just the ramblings of a dying father. Naruto did not have unfaltering control over his emotions like Mito, or the impenetrable chakra of Kushina's seals. But if this kid really was a reincarnation of Hagoromo's son… he owned something else that could prove to be a lot more formidable. And may be (for the first time ever of course...) Kurama had been wrong.

"Get up!" Kurama roared out of the cage. Naruto stirred but did not wake. Kurama leaned back and roared even louder. "WAAAAKE UPPPP!"

The entire chamber reverberated and shook. Abruptly, Naruto sat straight up, shaking the sleep out of his mind and looking around the chamber. "Huh?"

"I'm giving you back your body." Kurama replied, coolly.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the nine tails who sat staring at him with large fiery eyes from inside the open cage. He narrowed his blue eyes suspiciously. He had had dealings with this duplicitous creature for half of his life. Kurama never did anything without receiving something in return. "Why would you do that?"

"The girl will live." Kurama lay his head on his paw.

"Hinata is alive!" Naruto jumped up filled with relief. He moved closer to the cage but not too close. He demanded, "Tell me! How do ya know, fox!?"

"I just know these things." Kurama replied, simply. Then gritting his razor sharp teeth, he said, begrudgingly, "unfortunately, she would hate me if I took you from her for good. And I cannot have that. So I'm going to give you another chance… to see what you can do against this Pain. Don't disappoint me."

Naruto knew Kurama was lying. They both knew Hinata did not have a hateful bone in her body. She would stop at nothing to protect those she loved, but she understood and felt the pain of others too deeply to be corrupted by revenge. As result, everything she did was purely out of love -and never out of hate. That was the reason why she was so effective against the nine tailed beast.

Looking down at his feet, Naruto felt ashamed. Everything he had done so far against Pain was purely out of hate and revenge. He still hated Nagato as much as ever -and wanted to crush him between his toes, like the despicable lower life form that he was, for what he had done to his sensei and to his village. But he knew the more he gave into that pain and hatred, the easier it was for Kurama take over his body. He should not have allowed it to control him.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and clinched his fists. Kurama had released his hold for whatever reason, and he was not going to even bother questioning the tailed beast. Now that he had control again, the fox was not getting his body back!

Jiriaiya had entrusted him as his successor. And Jiraiya's life quest had been to rid the shinobi world of hatred and to bring peace to the world. He could not complete his master's dream and fall into Pain's hate filled world by avenging his death. One had to be placed over the other. He understood now that no matter the impressive extent of Nagato's awesome power, it was Pain's inability to look past his own pain that had kept Jiraiya from choosing him as his successor.

Naruto turned away from the tailed beast. He knew what he had to do now to make this right and to set himself back on the path that Jiraiya laid out for him. He said over his shoulder. "Don't worry fox. I've got this."

Any sign of the nine tailed fox disappeared from within the spinning miniature planet that hung above Tendo Pain in the sky. Kurama vanished as he was suppressed back inside of Naruto. Frowning up at his planetary devastation jutsu, Pain demanded, "Where did the tailed beast go?!"

Then he spotted Naruto standing on the surface of the small rotating planet, holding Hinata in his arms. His sage mode was reactivated.

"He is a resilient one. He controlled the beast and is back in sage mode already." Nagato relayed to Konan, impressed and frustrated all at once.

Naruto dove down to the real earth's surface, laying down Hinata safely behind some rocks. Looking back towards the village, he noticed the large amount of smoke billowing from within the walls. "What happened in the village? Who did that?"

"You did that... after the nine tails took over." Lady Katsuyu replied, slithering her way out of his clothes onto his shoulder. "I thought I was going to die for sure for a second there. Then all of a sudden you just became yourself again -thank god!"

"Is everyone alright? Is Hinata going to be ok?" Naruto inspected her wound. The bleeding had slowed down and she was breathing evenly.

The small Katsuyu, who had been on Naruto, split in two again. "Lay me on her. I'll seal the wound with my body... Sakura and some others are headed this way. She will be able to heal Hinata once she gets here. You need to go and finish Pain."

Leaning forward, Naruto kissed Hinata's forehead and whispered, "I'll be right back… I've gotta take care of something real quick, ya know. You'll be good as new by the time I get back... Lady Katsuyu and Sakura will make sure of it."

He appeared out from behind the rocks and walked towards Pain. "Hey! I'm done with this fight. I want to talk. Take me to the real Pain!"


	19. Nagato & Naruto Uzumaki: The Battle Ends

Raked with fear, Sakura made her way out of the village followed by Ko, and Sabui, who was suspiciously absent for most of the day but suddenly materialized out of nowhere. She grasped at the last bit of hope that Hiro was right, and Naruto was able to pull his own self out of the tailed beast's rage. If Hinata was truly dead, she knew he was gone forever.

Ko shouted, "He headed this way with Hinata! I can see her ahead... she's still alive! But where is Naruto?"

"He followed that Pain further into the woods." Sabui replied, inspecting the woods with his own byakugan. "There are some others headed this way as well."

"Who?" Sakura kneeled down next Hinata as they approached the rocks where Naruto had left her with Katsuyu. "How is she, Lady Katsuyu?"

"She was badly injured, but she will live."

"Thank god! If something happened to Lady Hinata while Master Hiashi..." Ko kneeled down next to Sakura. "What do you need?"

"Just stay back." Sakura removed Katsuyu from the wound and began healing Hinata by placing her hands above Hinata's body to use mystical palm technique. Not long after they arrived, Lee, Ikko, and Tenten appeared too, running from the woods with their sensei, Guy.

"What happened here?! We just saw a massive amount of smoke coming from the village?" Guy spotted the group and led his team towards them. "Hinata is injured? Is it that bad?"

"Pain showed up... and destroyed the village to get to Naruto. Naruto fought Pain and was captured. Hinata tried to save him, but Naruto turned into the nine tails after Pain almost killed her. The rest of the village was demolished after that... now Naruto is following Pain." Sabui raised a finger east. "That way."

"Who are you?" Tenten inspected the malnourished young man in front of her, curiously. She would have certainly remembered this Hyuga if she had ever seen him before. Besides, if one looked beyond his deformities, he appeared to be around the same age. He likely should have been in their class.

"He's Neji Hyuga, Lady Hinata's cousin. Lord Hiashi's long lost nephew." Ko interrupted politely, before Sabui could answer.

"Oh..." Tenten and Sabui stood, giving each other the once over for a moment, and then they turned back to the others.

"Guy! You're back!" Shikaku and Inoichi appeared from the direction of the village as well. They greeted the others before breaking off to move deeper into the woods. "We are going to attempt to locate the real Pain by looking at the highest points closest to the village. It's the very least we can do while Naruto fights Pain."

"I'll come too. Lady Hinata is in good hands." Ko stated. "And you'll need a byakugan user."

Shikaku nodded. "That will be helpful. You'll be able to see him easier and possibly see any signals that he is still sending to the remaining Pain. Inoichi has not been able use the recovered dead bodies to pick up the chakra signals so far... he changes frequencies every time one of them is taken out."

* * *

"So you have figured out that I'm not there among the six Pains... first Jiraiya and now you. Impressive." Tendo Pain pulled a long metal rod from his sleeve. "But the time for discussion is over. There are only two ways this ends. You will submit now or you will lose this fight and submit later."

"Well then... I guess I will have to fight you." Naruto spread his legs and raised his arms in a defensive stance as Pain came towards him with the metal rod. "And then I will find the real Pain on my own."

"Really?" Lady Katsuyu asked, hesitantly. "How are you going to do that? You can't access the byakugan with Lady Hinata unconscious, and no one else has been able to even pick up his chakra signals to find him. He changes the signals too quickly."

"No, but when he had me pinned to the ground with his rods earlier, I could feel the real Pain but just vaguely. Now that I'm in Sage mode I think I'll be able to pinpoint his exact location. It won't matter if he changes the signal." Naruto grabbed hold of the rod that Tendo Pain aimed at his chest. He swung and spun into a side kick knocking the ninja away and into some rocks. Bracing himself for the physical pain, he shoved the rod into his shoulder.

Tendo Pain got to his feet and growled, "You bastard!"

"Give up! I know where you are now. And I know this Pain hasn't recovered his powers yet." Naruto produced the two clones who he needed for his rasenshuriken. He whispered to Katsuyu. "He will need time to recover after that last jutsu that he used on the nine tails. He has not produced his push, pull yet... this is my chance."

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes and looked up at the faces staring down at her. "Naruto? Is he..."

Through the binding seal, she could now feel Naruto and Kurama separately, but she also remembered seeing Naruto in his rage. And in her weakness and fatigue, she could not quite figure out if that was dream or if this was a dream. "Is he gone?"

"He is alright." Lady Katuyu relayed. "He is back to himself and is taking care of the last Pain... don't worry he will win."

"Of course he will." Lee said determinedly. He clinched his fist and thrust it in the air. "Naruto has this in the bag!"

"We are all just glad you are ok, Hinata." Sakura moved back to allow her patient to sit up.

"Yeah. We were really worried about you." Tenten helped her support herself. "But you almost look good as new, now."

"Thanks to you." Hinata smiled weakly at Sakura. She looked over at Sabui, surprised to see him there among her comrades. She smiled at him. "Thanks to you all."

Sabui sort of grimaced as though fighting off the urge to smile back. He moved his one eye down to the ground and started to look around as though something important had caught his attention.

"Good news." Katsuyu reported. "Naruto has ended the last Pain!"

"YES!" Lee punched his palm with his other fist. "I told you Naruto would do it!"

"How is Naruto?" Sakura asked concerned. "Is he injured at all?"

"Well, he is very fatigued, but he is ok." Katsuyu reported to them.

Hinata's shoulders fell in relief. When she watched him get captured by Pain earlier, she felt a flash of what life would be like without Naruto in it. The months that he was gone from the village had been almost unendurable. If he was taken from her forever... She could not even think of it. Tears started to form in her eyes. "Such good news. I'm so glad... Naruto."

"So?" Guy stepped up and asked. "Where is Naruto now?"

"He is going alone to meet the real Pain."

"Why would he do something so reckless?" Ikko asked quietly looking up from behind his glasses.

"You should follow him. I have heard the real Pain is formidable -he'll need back up." Sabui spoke up slyly from where he stood on the outskirts of the group.

"You worked for the Akatsuki... didn't you?" Sakura asked suspiciously eyeing the stranger. "Why are you still here?"

"If you must know, I worked for Sasuke. I left him after he killed his brother and decided to join the Akatsuki." Sabui replied, scowling back at her. Then recognition dawned on his face. "Ah... I know you. You're the girl who was on a team with Sasuke before he left Konoha."

"Sasuke mentioned me?" Sakura asked, hesitantly surprised.

"Not really." Sabui stated bluntly. "But Orochimaru did... after you got in Sasuke's way while we were attempting to recover the three tails. You claim to be a good friend of his... yet like Naruto, you won't leave him alone. Even though it appears he doesn't want anything to do with you."

Sabui narrowed his eyes. "But that has nothing to do with me. So I'm not sure why you have a problem with me."

"Well for starters..." Sakura turned to squarely face the Hyuga.

Hinata put her hand on Sakura's arm. "It's ok. Neji... I mean, Sabui is one of us now."

"But..." Sakura continued.

"Let it go... for me. Please, Sakura." Hinata pleaded softly. She was certain any little thing could cause Neji to bolt, and she felt responsible for making sure he did not leave while her father was recovering. She was surprised and relieved that he had not snuck away already during Pain's assault.

"If you say so," Sakura replied, not fully convinced, but she let it go for Hinata's sake.

"I agree... with Neji... Sabui... the new guy!" Lee interjected. "We should follow him."

"Wait." Katsuyu replied. " Naruto does not want anyone to follow him. He wants to do this alone."

"What? Really?" Guy appeared flustered. Then he looked around at his team. "No way he's doing this alone. He has been fighting alone for most of the day... it's time we back him up, team! Lady Katsuyu lead us to Naruto!"

* * *

"Naruto!" Inoichi called to the boy in the orange sweatsuit, as he, Ko, and Shikaku spotted Naruto in front of them running among the tree branches. They were all headed north to the top of a nearby mountain. It had been awhile since anyone had been this way... to this area. There were stories of the woods being haunted after dead bodies were found in a nearby cave.

Reluctantly, Naruto stopped and turned to meet the three older ninja, watching quietly as they landed on a nearby branch. Hesitantly, he asked, "What's up masters?"

"So you defeated the sixth pain?" Inoichi asked, inspecting the young ninja in front of him. Naruto's face gave away nothing.

"The outcome of that fight does not really matter." Naruto replied, solemnly.

"What do you mean?" Shikaku asked, confused. "You didn't defeat him then?"

"This won't be over until I have spoken to the real pain... alone."

"So you know where the real pain is then?" Ko asked, hopefully.

"Yea. I was able to reverse track his chakra signal when I was in sage mode by piercing my body with one of those chakra receivers."

"Very clever." Shikaku replied.

"And now you've decided to find him alone?" Inoichi asked, suspiciously narrowing his eyes. "After everything he has done to our people... to our village, you plan to just talk to him? An enemy of the leaf? Why are you giving him this chance? A chance that he never afforded to any of our dead comrades."

"Yes that is what I plan to do. Nothing will be settled by more fighting or revenge!" Naruto yelled. He gritted his teeth. "It will just make us as bad as him!"

"He has to be punished!" Inoichi argued back.

"I hate this more than anyone!" Naruto's face was turning red with his frustration. He was already having this argument with himself. He did not want to also have the argument with three masters. "I want so bad to make him suffer after everything he has done... he's scum! He's worse than sum! But what will that solve! It won't bring back the dead. It won't even provide any satisfaction! It will just make Pain right, and I won't allow him to be right! I have to solve this... another way... for Master Jiraiya."

"But..." Inoichi started, his face turning as red as Naruto's. But Shikaku placed an arm in front of his comrade's chest.

"Inoichi. Let Naruto do what he feels he needs to do."

"What? Really?" Inoichi turned his anger on Shikaku now. "You're really going to allow this to happen?"

"He is the one who defeated the pains. He deserves the respect of seeing this all the way through. Besides... I'm sure he has something special in mind for this meeting."

"Yeah... but..."

"Just let him go!" Shikaku interrupted Inoichi abruptly.

"Thank you... Master Shikaku." Naruto nodded at Shikaku and turned to keep going deeper into the woods.

The three ninja stood and watched quietly as Naruto's form grew smaller and further away, until he disappeared out of sight completely. Then they looked at each other and their facial expressions changed to one of mischief. The three bodies began to shift, molding themselves into three new forms. Three identical and very white men stood in place of the three leaf ninja. Short spiky green hair sprout from their heads, and they each had a single yellow eye. The right halves of their faces and bodies melt into a unshaped blob of skin and flesh. They looked at each other with their single eyes. "It is lucky we crossed paths with these leaf ninja in the woods. The boy would have never disclosed such important information otherwise. We must report this back to the original Zetsu, quickly. Madara will want to know that Pain is about to fail to recover the last tailed beast."

The one on the right spoke to the air as though talking to no one in particular. "The nine tails' jinchuuriki has defeated all six of Nagato's pains. He is now headed towards the location of the real pain. I've attached a spore to him to track his steps. We will use the general location to recover Nagato's body should he die at that end of this."

* * *

Nagato waited, patiently as Naruto tore his way through Konan's paper mache tree. The purple haired woman moved to jump in front of Nagato protectively, but Nagato stopped her, coughing out, "No, Konan. Let him in."

Both Akatsuki watched silently as Naruto moved into the dark cavern of the enormous fake tree.

"Are you here for your vengeance?" Nagato asked, narrowing his ringed eyes. "You have no answers to my questions... cough cough. No alternatives to my well laid plans. Killing us is all about personal satisfaction... cough cough. I've given you the chance to refute my claim and yet, here you are... cough cough... still with no answers. Only hatred in your eyes."

Naruto had stopped to gather natural chakra and reactivate sage mode on his way to the real pain. He had not fully decided yet, what he planned to do to his enemy when he finally reached him. But now that he stood there in front of the pitiful sight that was Nagato Uzumaki, blood dripping from his lips as he barely was able to speak between coughing fits, Naruto was even more confused. Both hatred and pity swirled in his heart like yin and yang.

"Sacrifice yourself for the betterment of this world!" Nagato let loose a large bolt from the amplifier that he stood within.

The bolt went into Naruto's abdomen not hitting any vital organs, but piercing him deep. Naruto just excepted the pain and did not move. Kurama growled angrily inside of him.

"You are mine now! With that rod implanted, you can't move on your own. You can't resist me." Nagato sent his chakra to the bolt in an attempt to move Naruto towards him, but found that instead of his chakra flowing into Naruto, he felt a powerful and painful presence inside of himself. "AAAAHHH!"

He grimaced squeezing his eyes shut against the horribly pain that filled his head.

"Too many squatters in this body." A deep voice came from Naruto in low harsh tones. Naruto pulled the bolt from his stomach and tossed it away, moving closer to Nagato's amplifier. "Now tell me your story. Make me understand your pain."

* * *

The man in the orange spiral mask moved from the concealment of the shadows of the underground hideout to stand over the thin dead body of Nagato Uzumaki.

"We were able to recover and replace Pain's body with one of my clones before Konan took it to bury..." Both Zetsus looked down at the body from within their venus fly trap structure. "It wasn't easy... but we are always one step ahead."

"What a weak minded fool!" Madara growled down at his dead subordinate. He kneeled down next to the body and began to remove the eyes. "Not only did the jinchuuriki convince Pain to let him go, he convinced him to make the ultimate sacrifice. The sacrifice that Pain was supposed to force upon the kid. We were lucky to recover the rinnegan. Fortunately for us, he was only a spare, and expendable to our true plan."

Madara scoffed. "All of his grand ideals were useful... but childish. His death was as pitiful as his existence... just an end to a means."

"What will you do with the body?" White Zetsu asked, mischievously licking his lips.

"Don't worry. Once I remove his eyes, you can devour the body as usual." Madara finished removing the eyes and waved his hand nonchalantly as he left the body to the Zetsus.

* * *

Kakashi appeared from the trees to stand over Naruto as he sat exhausted under a nearby tree. The relief of winning the fight and stopping Pain from targeting anyone else mixed with the emptiness of the lack of satisfaction following Nagato's death. During the encounter, he had been able to see and understand Nagato's pain all the while forcing his own belief in himself onto Pain. But none of that brought Jiraiya back or answered the question that Jiraiya sought to answer.

"Naruto?"

He looked up into his sensei's curious face and absentmindedly asked, "Kakashi sensei? Where did you come from?"

"I made my way back to the village as soon as I heard what was happening here. Everyone has been out looking for you." Kakashi looked around them at the silent forest. "And Pain?"

"He is dead." Naruto replied looking down at his feet. "He gave his life to restore what he could to the village. His comrade, Konan took his body and the body of their friend Yahiko and left."

Kakashi held out his hand to his student. "I'll carry you back to the village. You can tell me your story on the way."

"Yeah, sure..."

"… After I found the real pain, he told me about the death of his parents at the hands of leaf shinobi. He said the pain of watching his parents death brought about his power. After that he met his greatest friends, Yahiko and Konan. They helped him survive and find something to live for. He and his friends searched for Jiraiya in the midst of the third great war… to learn ninjutsu from the best so they could bring peace to their land. But despite everything that Jiraiya did for them… everything he taught them, Nagato could never truly accept a hidden leaf ninja as his sensei after what happened to his parents. He tried because Yahiko was determined that it was a Sannin who should teach them to be ninja… And after Jiriaya discovered that Nagato had the rinnegan, he was certain that Nagato was the child of prophecy, his student and the successor who would bring balance to the world. The dojutsu of the sage of the six paths had returned to the world… the originator of ninshu, the predecessor of ninjutsu, a teaching intended to guide people towards peace. In order to make sure Nagato could control his power, Jiraiya sensei trained them for three years before he left the land of rain. After that, the three hidden rain ninja began to originize behind Yahiko and a philosophy of peace that was minimally based on military might. Hanzo the salamander was finally forced to acknowledged their organization as they continued to grow and gain popularity in the land of rain. He made a deal with them for peace negotiations between the three great nations, fire, sand, and stone, and the land of rain. But… in the end they were betrayed. It was a trap laid by Hanzo, who was afraid they were going to steal his power. Hanzo aligned with Danzo and the root to disband their group. In order to do so the two men demanded the death of the leader of the organization. Yahiko sacrificed his life by falling on Nagato's weapon. He said that was his second greatest pain. And in revenge, Nagato killed Hanzo and his men while Danzo disappeared. After that Nagato became the leader of the Akatsuki… but the philosophy had changed. It had always been Yahiko's will, that pushed Pain to move past his hate and need for revenge. Once Yahiko died, he became consumed by the idea that there was nothing beyond pain."

"There is no such thing as true peace in this shinobi world… just a false facade built on the backs of weaker nations. This world is cursed… Master Jiraiya's quest is ridiculous. Only from destruction and pain will human beings be forced into something akin to true peace. And even that will only last as long as the pain and the fear." Nagato paused and stared at Naruto with his ringed eyes. "Now that you have heard my story… what is your response?"

"Well? What was your response?" Kakashi asked, as he carried Naruto towards the village on his back. He strained under the weight. Naruto had grown significantly since the last last time he had to carry him.

"I told him that I'm never going to giving up. So he should stop trying to make me. I am the one, who Master Jiraiya entrusted with his quest. And there is nothing… not even my hate for him that is going to stop me from finding the answer to peace that Pervy sage spent his life searching for. Even if I have to search my entire life… even if I have to stand in front of every single shinobi in the world like I stood in front of him, I'll never stop." Naruto growled determinedly. Then weakly, he shrugged. "After that... I don't know why... he just believed me."

Kakashi looked down at his hands. He reached behind him to pat Naruto on the shoulder proudly. He knew why, immediately. Naruto had a way of making the impossible seem possible. And even though he was supposed to be the master and Naruto the student, he had been swept up by that undeniable wave of optimism several times himself. "And so now you're a hero."

Naruto shook his head and closed his eyes before he softly mumbled, "No… not yet... there's still a long way to go Kakashi sensei..."

As they reached the edge of the village, they were greeted by a gathered crowd of villagers who shouted, "Naruto Uzumaki! Hero! Hero of the village!"

"What is this?" Naruto asked, curiously.

Katsuyu spoke up from within his collar as Kakashi let him down to his feet. "I already told everyone the details of what happened between you and Pain, and that Mr Kakashi was bringing you back home. Many of them were out looking for you... but they all returned quickly so they could be here to greet you."

Hands reached for him, patting him on the shoulder and on the back. A few young girls boldly threw their arms around his neck, squeezing tightly until he could slip away and escape. Young children grabbed his arms and pulled at his sleeves. "How'd ya do it! What was the enemy like anyway? Did you get any cool scars? Let us see! Let us see!"

At the back of the crowd, he came across his masters waiting for him. Hiashi stood leaning against Han and a crutch. Master Fukasaku lay in a makeshift bed on top of one of Mount Myoboku's toads with Shima fussing over him.

"You have saved the village and made Jiraiya boy proud!" Master Fukasaku patted Naruto's hand. "After all that hard work, you deserve a long break, boy. Take it!"

Hiashi nodded his head in agreement and tapped Naruto's shoulder. Then he indicated a tent behind them. "Someone is waiting for you in the tent."

Naruto continued on, entering the tent to find Hinata standing as Sakura and Shizune leaned over an older woman, who lay on a pad on the ground.

"Naruto!" Hinata ran to his side as soon as she saw him come in. He smiled brightly, reaching for her as she stumbled towards him and pulling her into an embrace. Finally feeling the weight of the fight and Nagato's death lift from his shoulder, Naruto let out a long breath as Hinata relaxed safely inside of his arms. As she buried her face in his shoulder, he could feel the tears fall from her eyes and soak through his sweatsuit. She said softly so only he could hear, "I'm so glad you're ok... I thought Pain was going to... then Kurama... I thought I lost you."

"It's ok. I'm ok." He whispered back reassuringly, as he leaned down and buried his own face in her long hair, taking in the smell of lavender and windflowers that always clung to her. He loved that smell. It was the place that he called home, and it was so good to be back home. Tightening the embrace even further, he clung to her now too, remembering that he had almost lost her as well. "We're both ok now."

She turned her mouth to his ear and pressed her lips softly on his ear lobe, whispering, "I love you, Naruto Uzumaki."

He smiled and whispered back. "I love you too, Hinata Hyuga."

Lifting his face from Hinata, he noticed the thin and sickly body that lay on the ground nearby, finally recognizing who it was and asked, "Lady Tsunade?"

Worried, Sakura looked up from her patient. "She has not woken up since she used most of her chakra to save the villagers during the explosion. We don't know when she will gain consciousness again... if at all."

* * *

Four years earlier…

"Why would you place Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha on the same genin team!" Koharu demanded of Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Third hokage reluctantly joined her and Homura at their table in the Konoha council chamber. As usual, the shades were pulled down, only allowing a slim trickle of light into the dimly lit room. Like the Hokage's office, a seal was placed on the door, creating a barrier that kept the room sound proof to anyone who did not know the code. This was necessary since Koharu's high pitched voice was known to travel. "And… of all people, you put Kakashi Hatake in charge of them! What are you thinking?"

"Yes." Lord Third removed the pipe from between his lips and cleared his throat. "I thought he would be best for the job."

"Really?" Koharu asked skeptically. "How do you suppose that is going to work out!? He may have a sharingan, but he has no ability to control that thing inside of the boy IF it ever gets loose. Naruto is neither his mother nor Mito Uzumaki. Minato's seal will only keep the nine tails under control for so long, and who can predict when it finally decides to give way."

"I've already set things in motion in regards to that." Hiruzen replied simply. The wrinkles stretching from the corners of his eyes deepened as he furrowed his brow. He was used to be questioned by his council, particularly during the last few years since he had been reappointed hokage following the fourth's death, but it still grated on his nerves.

"Oh? Well why not speed things up and just give the boy a Hyuga sensei who he can be sealed to now?" Koharu's high pitched voice got even higher. Hiruzen resisted the urge to stick his fingers in his ears.

Instead, he looked stoically at his advisor and replied, "Because this is not just about Naruto being kept under control. It is about what is best for his education and growth."

Now Homura took up the interrogation. "And that's not the only concern. There is a fair amount of danger that outsiders might target him. Kumo kidnapped Kushina as a child trying to get their hands on the nine tails. What exactly do you think they'll do once we send Naruto out of the village like a sitting duck?"

"What are you suggesting?" Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at them. He wondered how much they actually knew about the shady business that had been going on in regards to Konoha's jinchuuriki. He had not shared much with these two, but Danzo knew as much as he did… possibly more.

"I'm suggesting that the boy be removed from that team… possibly removed from training with the rest of the genin all together. He should be kept in the village in a safe and secure place for his own safety and ours. This plan of yours puts everyone in danger!" Koharu demanded.

On the other side of the door, Danzo leaned his ear against it to listen in on the discussion passing between the elders. He, of course, had the code to bypass the sound barrier. He often used his access to spy on this room, as well as on the hokage's office. Why would Hiruzen place the nine tail's jinchuuriki on the same team as one of the only two surviving Uchiha? An Uchiha, whose brother had already gone rogue. He had already given Itachi access to one source of power. Was the Hokage trying to give the Uchiha control over the tailed beast too? Was this a way to rebuild the Uchiha clan by force?

Danzo had been suspicious of Hiruzen's motives ever since Lord Third refused to believe that it was an Uchiha who was behind the nine tails attack twelve years ago. That was no act of nature. Danzo knew about everything that occurred in the village. And there were too many preparations made to ensure Kushina's seal remained intact during Naruto's birth for the nine tails to just escape. Kushina's seal was too strong. AND what about the two children kidnapped at the exact same time? Coincidence. He thought not. No matter the attempts to place blame on Orochimaru and his forbidden experiments, Danzo knew beyond a doubt it was an Uchiha who had stolen those children from the village.

"No matter. I have taken things into my own hands, Hiruzen Sarutobi." Danzo whispered to himself.

* * *

The day after Pain's assault...

"You've got to be kidding me…" Shikaku grumbled under his breath as Danzo stood up from the long table and declared to the Fire Daimyo and the rest of the Land of Fire's council that he was the best choice for the sixth Hokage while Tsunade remained in a coma.

"With Kakashi Hatake as the sixth hokage, we will only be getting more of the same!" Danzo stood to his feet incensed by Shikaku's nomination. "We need to put an end to the teachings of Hiruzen Sarutobi! For generations now, student after student has led us to disaster. They are and were too naive… every single last one of them! And this last disaster has completely destroyed the village! It was Jiraiya's teaching that brought that Pain to our doorstep. This is what comes from sympathizing and teaching ninjutsu to foreign shinobi! We must have a leader who can put aside all of the naive empathy, and can clean up this entire mess. Someone who will rule with an iron fist! Someone who will place Konoha first! I believe that can only be me!"

"It was also a student of Lord Third's teachings, Naruto Uzumaki, who saved the village in the end." Shikaku pointed out. "By the way... where were you during Pain's assault, Danzo?"

Danzo turned and narrowed his one visible eye at Shikaku's challenge.

But the Fire Daimyo held up his fan to stop the argument. "That's enough. I've made my decision. I think it's best to allow Danzo to take charge for now. The fifth hokage may recover soon... and he has much more experience than Kakashi at this point."

Shikaku rolled his eyes and sighed. He mumbled, "what a drag."

* * *

Karui's mouth fell wide open, and she whimpered as her golden eyes scanned the enormous disaster that lay in front of her like a skittish cat. Omoi couldn't have been right! He was never right! How could he possible be right about this? That little pebble that she threw earlier couldn't have possibly caused an avalanche that destroyed the entire hidden leaf village? She frowned, could it?

"Close your mouth, you're catching flies." Samui of the cloud snapped, rolling her ice blue eyes at her subordinate. "There is no way that little rock did all of this!"

"Are you sure?" Omoi looked from right to left, inspecting the enormous crater that was once the hidden leaf village. "I mean my predictions are usually pretty sound."

"What are you talking about?! Your idiotic predictions never come true!" Karui swung her fist in the direction of Omoi's head as he backed up and ducked under the punch innocently.

"Hey! Who are you three?" Two Hyuga guards approached their group.

"I am Samui of Kumo. We were sent as envoys from the Raikage with a message to the Hokage." The blonde shinobi replied. "Can you take me to her?"

"Come on!" The guards waved their party to follow them into the rubble.

As they walked, Omoi stooped and picked up a small rock. "See Karui… here it is, your rock."

"Dummy! That is not my rock!" Kara shouted and placed her hands on hips.

"Would you two shut up! You're embarrassing me." Samui hissed back over her shoulder.

They were led into a tent where they found Shizune leaning over Lady Tsunami's unconscious body. Samui frowned, annoyed. "The Hokage is in a coma? I need to deliver a letter from the raikage as soon as possible. Who can read it?"

"Umm… yes." Shizune stood up quickly. "I am her assistant, so I can take the letter…"

Samui looked at the young woman in front of her, suspiciously. "An assistant? I don't think so... this is too important. Who is the acting hokage?"

"All communications should be directed to me!" Danzo appeared behind them with two masked ninja at his flanks. "I have been appointed the sixth hokage. Now hand that letter over to me and I'll answer it!"

Liking the look of this bandaged old man even less than the young woman, Samui reluctantly handed the letter to the man who declared himself the sixth hokage. Danzo snatched the letter and began to read. "So Sasuke Uchiha has joined the Akatsuki and kidnapped the eight tails… interesting."

"Well?" Samui asked impatiently. "I will need your response."

"I will send back an official letter, giving permission to hunt and kill the rogue ninja, Sasuke Uchiha." Danzo waved his free hand at the woman's impatience. "You might want to start with his little friend... the deformed Hyuga, he is living among the Hyuga clan these days I hear."

* * *

Sai moved quickly and swiftly back to Konoha at the news that Danzo had ascended to Sixth Hokage. He knew he was being called back to keep tabs on Naruto, but the urgency of his travel had nothing to do that. He was worried about something else. Something he could not quite put his finger on though he knew it was important. It was a memory… a very hazy memory from years ago while he was still training as a part of the root. He was young then... maybe four or five years of age. And a girl, not much older than himself, was always in the company of Danzo. He remembered thinking that it was odd that she never joined the other trainees. She remained by his side constantly, almost like a shadow. And then one day, she just suddenly disappeared. He never saw her again.

He had been thinking about this memory ever since he saw those pictures that Hinata had framed and placed in Naruto's living room. He was almost certain that he recognized the woman in one of the pictures. And that she looked identical to the girl who stood by Danzo's side. He could not speak of his suspicions to anyone else with Danzo's curse mark placed on his tongue. Though he was not sure he should say anything about it anyway. How was that even possible? That the woman and the girl were the same person. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. Still... if he was correct, Naruto could be danger.

"I need you to keep a close eye on Naruto Uzumaki and report all of his movements back to me." Danzo ordered Sai when he finally reached the village.

"May I ask you a question sir?" Sai asked, still worried about his prior thoughts. "What do you plan to do to Naruto?"

Danzo narrowed his eyes at the young man. He knew Sai could not act against him, but that did not mean that the boy would not attempt to help Naruto. "Don't worry, Naruto is the village hero right now. All of the villagers trust and love him... even more than they do me, their hokage. Even if I wanted to, I can't do anything to him now... not before the jonin vote... not while my position as hokage is still so tenuous. But even so, Naruto is the present jinchuuriki and it is my job as the leader of this village to watch over him. I will not be lenient like Tsunade and Hiruzen. He will know and be kept in his place."

"Yes, sir. I understand." Sai bowed his head to Danzo.

"Very well then. You are dismissed."

* * *

Hinata and Naruto sat hidden in a tall fur tree across the forest path from Kakashi and Sakura. It had been a week since Naruto encountered Nagato Uzumaki not far from here. Ever since then, he had been extremely restless, refusing to rest despite Hinata's insistence, and following Sakura and Shizune around, looking for anyway to help with Lady Tsunami's recovery.

"What exactly are we supposed to be looking for again?" With her byakugan activated, Hinata scanned the area around them for any signs of human life.

Naruto pointed to the place where the mountain range began to peek up through the ground. There was a small opening in the side of rock. "That cave. Kakashi believes that there may be members of the Akatsuki using it. He found a bunch of old equipment, sleeping pads, and food stuffs inside, but so far no one has appeared to claim it."

"Got it." Hinata nodded and smiled at him. They had been at it for two days and so far, this stake out had only been long and fruitless. And the original team for this mission was supposed to be her, Sakura, and Kakashi alone. But Naruto insisted that he was coming too. Without Lady Tsunade to oppose the idea, Kakashi relented and allowed it. Hinata was glad to be able to work along side Naruto again though she worried he had used his recovery. After several hours of am umevemtful morning, something… or rather some one caught the corner of her eye. There were two creatures moving very fast towards them. One was riding on top of the other one. "Kiba."

"Huh?" Naruto asked, shaking the sleep out of his head as he almost nodded off again.

"Kiba is headed towards us! He is about a mile out!" Hinata whispered.

Naruto signaled to Kakashi and the four of them took off from their hiding spot to meet him.

"Hey you guys! I bring news!" Kiba called as he came upon the four shinobi. Akamaru slid to a stop in front of them and barked.

"What is it? What is so urgent?" Sakura asked as she attempted to catch her breath.

"It's bad. Danzo has taken over as sixth hokage while Lady Tsunade is in a coma."

"WHA!" Sakura and Naruto shouted in unison.

"And he has ordered the hunt and elimination of Sasuke Uchiha."


	20. Family Squabbles

Making his way from Danzo's tent to the outskirts of the village, Sai bumped into something solid, which for whatever reason was sitting right smack in the middle of his path. He had been watching the surface of the stream as it flowed parallel to his path, but he was not that deep in thought. Surprised, he looked down to find the deformed Hygua sitting on his haunches in front of him. Sabui's curved back caused the young man to squat in an awkward position as he stared up at Sai suspiciously.

"You should watch where you are going kid." Sabui narrowed his one white eye at Sai and readjusted the mask on the right half of his face. He was not use to the controlled deadpan look that was a constant on Sai's face. Every ninja, even those as calculating as Sasuke, could not help but wince just a bit when they first saw him.

But Sai's pale white face showed no reaction. His stone black eyes were cold and distant, as though nothing sat beyond them. He just stared at Sabui blankly. "I am always very cognizant of my surroundings. It is you who appeared suddenly in my path."

"You're a strange one." Sabui sneered. He usually reveled in the disgust and fear that his appearance stirred in those who encountered him. It was his power. Even the Hyugas, though they were all very good at hiding it, stared at him a little bit longer and a little harder than they did the average passerby. But this kid looked at him with the same dispassion as he did the rest of the world. He decided he did not like the boy, as he watched Sai walk around him to continue his journey without another word. "Where are you going? And what did that Danzo character want with you? Why were you in his tent?"

Sai stopped but did not answer the question. Eventually, he asked, "why are you asking me these questions?"

Sai turned his hollow eyes back to Sabui and the two boys sized each other up. Unbeknownst to the other one, both boys shared an odd feeling of deja vu. At some point in their lives, they had stood in front of each other sizing each other up like this before.

"HEY! SAI!" Naruto's voice traveled from the woods before he appeared out of the shadows with Sakura and Hinata.

"We've got to talk to you." Sakura led the way to Sai's side before she noticed Sabui standing nearby and slowed her approach hesitantly. "Danzo… What can you tell us about him?"

Sai tore his eyes from Sabui and looked at Sakura blankly. "Nothing."

"What do you mean? You use to work for him, didn't you?" Naruto demanded. "You have to know something!"

"So you're back on his side then?" Sakura asked accusingly. She balled up her fists and scowled at her teammate. Sai did not react. He stood very still staring back at her as though catatonic.

"It's not that I wouldn't…" Sai replied, his words were pressured as though struggling against some unseen force. "It's that I can't."

"He has a curse mark placed on him." Sabui interjected cooly from the side of the conversation. Now that he had a chance to think, he remembered where he had seen this kid before. "It prevents him from speaking of Danzo. Every member of the foundation has one."

"What? How do you know?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sabui as the stranger finally gained his full attention. "And why are you really hanging around the hidden leaf village all of sudden? The night you were brought here, you said the Hyugas were not your family. You've had plenty of chances to slip away. So what's stopped you from leaving already?"

"Naruto." Hinata placed her hand on his arm softly. "Sabui left Sasuke after he joined the Akatsuki and…"

"WHAT? Sasuke joined the Akatsuki?" Naruto turned from Hinata and growled down at Sabui who met his stare with equal disdain. "Why are you spreading that lie?"

"Of course Sasuke joined the Akatsuki. He wants to control a tailed beast, just like they want to collect all of the tailed beasts. It's a means to an end." Sabui replied scornfully.

"Is that the reason why Danzo has given the order to hunt and capture Sasuke?" Sakura ignored Sabui and spoke directly to Sai.

"I didn't know…" Sai attempted to answer but was cut off abruptly.

The blade of a long sword appeared between the group. "Go on… keep talking… tell us all about this Sasuke. You guys seem to be friends of his… and look you're harboring the altered Hyuga who used to be part of his team."

Without fully seeing their opponents, Naruto swiped Sai's tanto from his back and swung at Karui's long sword, knocking it up and back. He blocked Omoi from unsheathing his sword with his elbow as he made the hand seals. "Shadow clone jutsu!"

Two Naruto clones appeared. One grasped Karui's sword blade as she flipped over Omoi's back and swung at the real Naruto. The other anchored a calling seal. Hinata grabbed Sakura and jumped through the calling seal, just as Omoi dodged Sai's roundhouse kick and spun himself around Karui's shoulders. His kick barely missed Sakura and landed squarely in the chest of the first clone causing it to disappear. The two hidden cloud ninja jumped back onto the surface of the nearby stream, placing enough space between them and their rivals to regroup.

Naruto ran over to stand in front of Hinata and Sakura, Sai's sword held defensively and ready to strike as he dispelled the second clone. Now he could see the two ninja were a teenage boy and girl. They appeared about the same age as the leaf ninja present, but both had on the white flak jackets of cloud jonin. The girl stared angrily at them with golden eyes. The boy's large and soft dark brown eyes were only outmatched by the relaxed nature of the lollipop that hung from the side of his mouth.

"Their headbands. They are hidden cloud ninja." Sakura said standing up and dropping her guard.

"What the hell do you guys want?" Naruto demanded across the stream. He also lowered the sword in his hand.

"We want to know about Sasuke Uchiha! You were just talking about him! And he use to work for him!" Karui pointed a finger at Sabui, who had been sitting and watching the fight quietly without bothering to lift a finger.

"Why?" Sakura yelled back. "What does any of this have to do with you, cloud ninja?"

"A LOT! Sasuke Uchiha and his gang assaulted the hidden cloud village and took our beloved master, Lord Bee!" Karui snapped back at Sakura. "We don't even know if he is dead or alive?"

"What… no way! Sasuke wouldn't really…" Sakura and Naruto looked over at Sabui. He just looked back at them impassively. His face gave away nothing.

"Ugh! Don't act so ignorant! Like any of that is beyond Sasuke Uchiha." Karui rolled her eyes in disgust.

"It's because you, leaf ninja, just let your rogue ninja roam free that our master is in trouble. This isn't the first time one of your rogues has caused trouble! And we have your hokage's permission to get rid of him and to start by questioning that one there." Coolly, Omoi indicated Sabui. "… we plan to take him until we get our answers."

Hinata left Sakura's side and moved in front of Sabui, protectively. "Sabui is protected by the Hyuga clan."

"Hinata…" Naruto looked over at her. She shook her head determinedly at him. He sighed and his shoulders dropped in concession. He turned back to the kumo shinobi. Hinata was never going to back down from protecting her cousin and no matter how much he did not trust Sabui, Naruto would do anything for Hinata. "You don't need Sabui or Sasuke. Take me instead. I'll tell you everything you need to know."

* * *

Sasuke scowled at the masked man in front of him. Madara had just appeared out of nowhere obstructing their path through the Land of Fire's woods. Even Karin had not sensed him before he just appeared. The man could either read minds, or he had found some way to track them unbeknownst to Taka.

This was much worse than working for Orochimaru. Sasuke knew exactly who his ex-mentor was and therefore how to deal with him. Despite, Madara's constant prattling about himself and his grand self sacrificing life, Sasuke still had no idea what this man was capable of. It was apparent the masked man was very powerful, and he planned to keep his arsenal under wraps as long as possible. And now it seemed, he could find them anywhere.

Joining the Akatsuki, even for that short period of time, had been nothing but useless and a mistake. It had not gotten Sasuke any closer to getting what he wanted. He was going to have to take it for himself. If he could ever manage to get away from the older Uchiha long enough to do so. "How did you find us? And why are you here? Taka is no longer part of the Akatsuki. We held up our end of the deal and delivered the eight tails. In exchange, you made it quit clear you had no plans to follow through with your initial promise to share. So therefore, we have no further business with you."

"I warned you not to the betray the Akatsuki." Madara replied cryptically.

"What does that mean?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"The hunt for the tailed beasts."

"But we already hunted the eight tails and handed him over to the Akatsuki like you asked." Karin protested moving up next to Sasuke.

"That was a substitution." Madara responded, sounding annoyed. "Just as I suspected you would… Taka has blundered. It seems the eight tailed jinchuuriki is a lot smarter and more resourceful than all of four of you, numbskulls, put together."

Madara paused and looked around the stunned faces of Taka. "And where is the Hyuga? I see he is absent. That could've been the problem. He appears to have been the true brains of this crackpot operation. What a disappointment."

Suigetsu balled his fists. "So what if the tailed beast got away? What the hell do you want us to do about it? It's none of our concern anymore. Especially while you're standing there insulting us to our faces."

"Wrong." Madara stated. "You will complete the job that you were assigned. But that being said, the task of capturing the eight tails was the wrong task to give you. I have a different job in mind this time."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "And what if we decline."

He had other plans. The news of Pain's failed assault spread quickly. And with Sabui dispatched to Konoha this could be his only chance to finally get everything he wanted.

"Then we will fight and you will die." Madara said matter factly. "Besides, your little trip to the hidden leaf village is futile anyway."

Sasuke activated his chidori, attacking Madara before the masked man finished speaking. But again, he just passed right through him, and Madara did not even bother to pause his speech.

"Whatever you are planning for the hidden leaf rethink it."

Frowning again, Sasuke stood up and turned around. "What are you blathering about now old man?"

"The hidden leaf village is no more." Madara waved his hands nonchalantly as the Zetsus appeared from within the tree branch, completely hidden inside of their venus fly trap plant. "Zetsu… what have you found out? Who is the new hokage?"

"Oh. That Danzo fellow… just as we thought."

"You hear that Sasuke?" Madara turned to look at the younger Uchiha. "Danzo, one of the leaf elders who forced your brother into massacring our clan, is now the sixth hokage."

"Why the hell would he be hokage? What's going in the hidden leaf anyway?" Sasuke had only limited contact with Danzo while he lived in Konoha. In fact, he had no idea what the man even looked like, but the stories about him were infamous and never very favorable. Danzo was the last person who he ever suspected would be chosen hokage.

"My subordinate, Pain, destroyed the village… killed several poor and pathetic souls. Too bad… but just like you and your team, he couldn't finish the job either… And now thanks to the both of you, it seems the five kage are planning to take action. They're planning to convene a summit."

"It was Naruto who stopped Pain. He has become extremely powerful. Perhaps even more powerful than the eight tails…" White Zetsu giggled. "You know... the jinchuuriki, who Taka failed to defeat."

Sasuke scoffed. "I don't care about that. Naruto can become as powerful as he wants to be… he still has his weaknesses."

"What does that mean, my young protege?" Madara asked tauntingly. "Wishful thinking? Or is there something that you have failed to share with me?"

Sasuke just stared back at the masked man. If he had not figured out by now that Hinata Hyuga was Naruto's weakness, Sasuke did not plan to be the one to tell him. And the masked man dared to call them incompetent. But Sabui was handling Hinata. Sasuke needed to take out Danzo while he still had the chance. "We're going to that summit."

* * *

"But Naruto. I didn't mean…" Hinata started, shocked that he was offering himself to these two foreign ninja, who appeared to be out for blood.

"I'm a jinchuuriki just like your master." Naruto ignored Hinata and explained to the two cloud ninja. "The Akatsuki are hunting all of us. They destroyed our village trying to take me alive. They need all the jinchuuriki alive. So there is a good chance that your master is still alive too."

"What really?" Karui and Omoi looked at each other hesistantly.

"There's time but only a small amount. You shouldn't waste it on Sasuke or Sabui. I'll come with you. Then I can tell you everything that I know about the Akatsuki and what they want with the jinchuuriki."

"Are you sure about this?" Sakura whispered over to Naruto, unsure.

"Naruto don't. Neither you nor Sabui should go with them." Hinata protested softly, but with a lot more certainty in her voice.

Naruto reached out and took Hinata's hand. He squeezed reassuringly. "Just let me handle this... I got it, ya know."

* * *

Three shadowed ninja knelt in front of Danzo, their faces masked, and cloaks pulled over every possibly identifying inch of their bodies.

"I've sent two of my best after the girl. It seems she is starting to recover memories since returning to the cave in the northern woods." The masked ninja in the middle reported to Danzo. "But she has been near impossible to track as she is changing forms frequently and chakra signatures quickly. But should we approach if we do find her?"

"No." Danzo said firmly. "I want to avoid any mishaps that may weaken our circumstance. If the girl is beginning to remember, she will be very volatile right now. I still don't know how much control I have over her yet. Don't make contact. More importantly, increase the amount of troops searching for Orochimaru. There are more and more rumblings that he is still alive. He is the only one who knows about my ties to his forbidden human experimentation, and his research will be useful when I do have to use my modifications. I leave that to you, Shi."

"Yes sir!" The ninja in the middle disappeared abruptly into thin air.

"What about the altered ninja who has shown up among the Hyuga?" One of the remaining ninja asked.

Danzo narrowed his eyes. "It is true he may also remember things that could be dangerous. But he just left Sasuke and the Atatsuki, he has little credibility here. Besides, those cloud ninja who were dispatched to hunt Sasuke, will also handle the altered Hyuga in the process."

"I'm headed to the five kage summit. I plan to bring the two of you with me. But leave some of your subordinates to keep an eye on the nine tails. It seems that we can't fully trust Sai, anymore. When he reported to me earlier, he had concerns over his new friend's safety. Make sure Naruto does not leave the village."

* * *

Kakashi appeared in a branch above Sai, inspecting the scroll that Sai wrote on. He whispered down, "I'd appreciate it, if you didn't tell the hokage about Naruto's plans to the leave the village. Huh?"

Sai looked up and asked, "How is Naruto, anyway?"

He had not seen his blond teammate since he offered himself to the Kumo Ninja to get them away from Sabui, and then let Karui beat him to a bloody pulp in exchange for Sasuke. She might have beat him until his stopped breathing, if Hinata had not insisted that they follow Naruto, and Sai and Karui's comrade, Omoi, were not finally able to step in and stop her.

"Bruised. But near to his normal self." Kakashi dropped out of the tree and squat down next to his subordinate. "As I am sure you already know... since you have been watching him for Danzo, Naruto plans to go to the Raikage to speak to him directly. If you wouldn't mind... in your report, say nothing is going on."

"I see. So it appears that you still can't bring yourself to trust me." Sai replied.

"Well you are Danzo's subordinate... and assigned to spy on Naruto."

Sai looked down. He did not have an answer for Kakashi's concerns. He held information that he should tell them, but he couldn't even do that.

"But... you are also a member of team seven and my team Kakashi. So I do trust and believe in you. Just wanted to make sure you remembered that." Kakashi's visible eye softened. And Sai felt something warm start in the pit of his stomach, which he could not quite place. Kakashi smiled and said, "Catch ya later!"

Sai watched as Kakashi took off. He felt his face do something foreign. He felt it with his hand. His cheeks were rounded and soft and his lips were curled up at the ends. Was he smiling?

Picking up his pen, Sai continued to write. He had to do what he could to make sure his teammates made it out of the village.

* * *

A few days prior…

"By the way, where are the three right now?" Madara asked, as he patiently watched the Zetsus devour Nagato's body within the dark shadows of the cavern.

"The Hyuga boy is in Konoha. Sasuke has sent him there to steal the girl who is sealed to the nine tails jinchuuriki. The Hyuga boy thinks he has the ability to hide from anyone at will. Little does he know that he can never hide from me." Black Zetsu licked his lips maliciously.

White Zetsu squeaked, "we sense the girl moving erratically through the northern portion of the Land of Fire. We are not able to hone in on her as easily as our clones, but ever since Itachi's demise, it appears she has been remembering parts of her true identity."

"And Sasuke?"

"Our spore is tracking him moving from the east towards Konoha."

"I will approach Sasuke and his team, and set them after Danzo. Once Sasuke attacks Danzo it will draw out the others." Madara said, thoughtfully. "Danzo believes he can control the girl with his modifications like Itachi did for so long. But he is no Uchiha. It will only provoke her. That will buy enough time for Sasuke to kill Danzo before I intervene and retrieve my assets."

Presently…

"We the Taka shall take the new hokage's head at the five kage summit." Sasuke turned and looked at his team. "New destination."

"Sounds like a plan." Madara's voice now sounded content. Maybe even proud. "Zetsu... you're up."

The venus fly trap, surrounding the Zetsus, opened up revealing Black and White Zetsu inside. "Our clone will gladly guide you there."

The four members of Taka watched in disgust as white Zetsu split his body in half, so that one half continued as his clone and the other half contained the parasite known as Black Zetsu. The middle of the halves formed a white blob that melted and hung from the left half of the White Zetsu clone and the right half of Black Zetsu. The white Zetsu clone hopped out of the plant like structure and headed north. "Come on follow me! It's a long way to the Land of Iron!"

Taka followed the Zetsu clone leaving Madara and Black Zetsu alone among the trees.

"Things are going just as we planned then." Black Zetsu hissed.

"Yes." Madara looked down at his subordinate. "The only wild card is Sasuke. You can control the Hyuga boy and I can control the girl, but Sasuke... he could still turn on us. Just like Pain did. Killing Danzo should finally push him to the outer limits of his power, but we can't move too quickly. It is wiser to just keep an eye on him for now. We need to have the eight tails and the nine tails in hand before we link the three to the Gedo Statue anyway. An opportunity will show itself soon enough."

* * *

Naruto stood nervously outside of one of the larger tents being used by the Hyuga clan. He looked over at Kakashi with his one good eye and fiddled with the bandage over the other eye, which was still recovering from Karui's fists. "Maybe we shouldn't have rushed this."

"This is the best way to slip away without being seen. These ceremonies are private. Other shinobi stay clear out of respect." Kakashi replied, hesitantly. "But... I also understand how much meaning these things have."

Actually he really did not understand at all, since he had never even considered permanently linking himself to a woman. But he had heard through the grapevine that it meant a great deal. "We can find another way and postpone the ceremony until a later date."

"No." Naruto shook his head finally making up his mind. "I promised Hinata that the sealing ceremony would happen today. So it 's happening today."

He took a deep breath and adjusted his shirt. He wore the long plain shirt traditionally worn by Hyuga men with an Uzumaki patch over the sleeve. "Ok. I'm ready."

Kakashi lifted the tent flap to let Naruto into the dimly lit tent. Naruto turned back and watched hesitantly as Kakashi lowered the flap to wait outside. Then he looked around the tent at all of the faces and the white eyes that stared back at him expectantly. Several of the Hyuga elders stood at the back of the tent along with Hiashi and Hiro. Naruto fidgeted with his shirt again and then moved towards Hinata, who kneeled by Hanabi to the side of the tent. She looked beautiful. Her hair was pulled up and wrapped in a half bun and ponytail and she had placed a few windflowers in the bun. Now he really regretted using this as a cover. It was too late to back out now but a large part of him felt Hinata deserved more than this. Though through the binding seal he could only feel happiness and love radiating back at him. He smiled at her and took her hand, leading her away from her sister to the small alter that the elders had quickly assembled for the ceremony, from what could be salvaged from the old temple.

The Hyuga elders wrapped Hinata and Naruto's hands as one within a binding cloth after they kneeled together before the altar. Every Hyuga in the tent passed by to place hands on the couple and give a blessing over the union. Some left small gifts and tokens to welcome Naruto among their clan. There was no actual seal to create since Naruto and Hinata were already sealed, but the elders went through the motions as though this was a true ceremony. Though the sealing ceremony was not an actual marriage, it may have been more important than a wedding ceremony to the Hyugas since this was the moment when a young couple officially started to move through life together as one. As the ceremony ended, Hinata and Naruto were wrapped in their thick traveling cloaks and escorted out of the back of the tent where they were met by Yamato who had been waiting for them hidden in the woods.

"Kakashi will meet us a few miles out. Come on, I've placed a tracking seed on Kumo's messenger party. They've already started north."

Naruto and Hinata nodded and followed Yamato silently into the woods. About twenty minutes later, Kakashi joined them as promised.

"Where are they headed?" Kakashi asked Yamato.

"It appears they are headed towards the Land of Iron." Yamato replied. "We will catch up to them on the road."

It took half a day of trudging through below freezing temperatures and snow as deep as the knees before they finally caught up to the Raikage's traveling party.

"How dare you approach Lord Raikage like this!" C scowled as the party of leaf shinobi appeared from behind a small grouping of iced over rocks.

"Lord Raikage, I know this is isn't protocol..." Kakashi began.

"But we... I need to speak to him about Sasuke!" Naruto impatiently interrupted.

"Not this again!" Karui growled, staring daggers at Naruto. "The one beating wasn't enough I see."

"Lord Raikage. This young shinobi is here out of respect for both Kumo and Konoha to attempt to find a peaceful resolution to the tensions that Sasuke's actions against your village and your family have caused." Kakashi interjected attempting to reel Naruto back in.

"There are none! Don't waste the Lord Raikage's time with this." C answered, keeping in stride with the enormous man called the Raikage.

"Kumo has acted against Konoha many times as well. Some that have yet to be resolved. Including the attempted kidnapping of this young woman here for the power of the byakugan. Not once... but twice." Yamato indicated Hinata, who looked over at him in shock. She had not expected to be included in this.

The Raikage stopped walking now and turned to look Hinata over without the slightest shift in his stern expression, but he lifted his hand for silence as C began to speak again.

"The Hyuga clan's grievance was never settled. And Lord Hiashi Hyuga let it go for the sake of peace." Kakashi continued, diplomatically.

"The girl was never actually taken. Unlike my brother who is still missing and possibly dead." Raikage scoffed, and then he continued to walk away from the Konoha ninja.

"But this isn't just about Sasuke! I want to prevent the war that his death would spark. If you kill Sasuke, it will force his comrades to come after Kumo. And then Kumo would have to retaliate again." Naruto moved in front of the Raikage to stop him from continuing on. He dropped to his knees. "Please don't do this."

The Raikage walked around the young man, ignoring Naruto. He only stopped again as a light voice spoke up. "Lord Raikage. My uncle sacrificed himself as retribution after the death of the Kumo Shinobi, who kidnapped me the first time. The Hyugas believe a sacrificial death in order to prevent thousands of our comrades from dying in a war is the most honorable death a shinobi can have. Not many agree with us. But that is what my clan believes. But my uncle's death will mean nothing if a war starts between our clans anyway. That is why my father chose to over look your second attempt to kidnap me."

The Raikage stopped and turned back to look at Hinata again. "You are right. No one agrees with your clan. Particularly no Kumo Shinobi. Only the strongest survive in this world. Those who are willing to take power and punish anyone who dares to penetrate their ranks. Those who are willing to just lay down and die without a fight... well they should just go ahead and do it now."

"Get up off your knees!" The Raikage sneered down at Naruto who was still kneeling in the snow. He turned again and kept walking signaling his party to follow.

* * *

"Kumokagure has never stooped to hiring the Akatsuki. We believe cheap mercenaries are for those who have questionable morals and standards." The Raikage narrowed his eyes at the other four kage in the room. "Unfortunately, it appears that we have been alone in this thinking."

As the room remained silent behind this accusation, the Raikage continued.

"The hidden sand once used the Akatsuki to try to destroy the hidden leaf… It may be true that Orochimaru had already left the organization by then, but as a result the Fourth Kazikage and the Third Hokage were both killed. It's also hard to dismiss the possibility that this was all a part of an even larger plot." The Raikage stopped and looked over at Danzo to emphasis his point of suspicion. He was very well aware of Danzo's ambitions. "And over the years, the stone has been notorious for hiring the Akatsuki even for the most menial tasks. But even more suspicious is the Village Hidden in the Mists. It is rumored the Akatsuki began there. And am I surprised to see you even showed up to today... this type of diplomacy has been very uncharacteristic as of late."

The Mizakage sighed and lowered her green eyes which were already half hidden by her long thick red hair. "It has come to our attention that the Fourth Mizakage may have been manipulated by a behind the scenes force for most of his tenure. We believe… We believe it was the Akatsuki. This embarrassment is what has caused us to take a step back in recent years."

"And who are you to point fingers, Raikage!" The little man called the Tsuchikage growled in the large man's direction, staring angrily across the round conference table. "It's because you and your cloud ninja continue to steal powerful ninjutsu that we're all here in the first place. You're right. You never hired the Akatsuki because you were too busy greedily seeking more power during a time of disarmament. What did you think the response was going to be? But of course, a temper tantrum driven child like yourself doesn't think. You just impulsively act without considering the consequences. Kumo's reckless actions have been the sole provocation of the rest of the villages to hire mercenaries like the Akatsuki in order to counter your growing strength!"

"How dare you!" The Raikage stood up to his full height, his brown face turning red.

"Wait." Danzo spoke up raising his free hand for silence. "Before you people start arguing each others' merits, I'd like to finish my prior point."

"And that would be?" The Raikage demanded suspiciously. He grit his teeth in the direction of the Tsuchimakge, and thought about all of the ways that he could potentially crush that little troll of man.

"It has come to our attention that the leader of the Akatsuki may in fact be… Madara Uchiha."

"OH GEEZE!" The Raikage collapsed back into his chair, exasperated. His huge body partially cracked one of the chair legs, causing the seat to slant awkwardly to the right. "Madara Uchiha! Really? The man's been dead for decades."

"It's my unfortunate duty to agree with the Raikage on this." The Tsuchikage added, begrudgingly. "Madara's been dead for a long long time now."

"That may be true. But the information is from a quite reliable source and so I don't doubt it." Danzo replied.

"So you're saying he is immortal then?!" The Raikage demanded.

"Perhaps."

"So then he is some kind of inhuman monster. I knew it!" The Tsuchikage mumbled to himself.

"I think it is time that I make a suggestion as a leader of a neutral nation." General Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron's Samurai and the neutral party preceding over the summit, finally spoke up. "The Akatsuki organization has been able to grow, feeding on the suspicions between the five great nations. Maybe it's time we cut their source of nourishment. We can turn all of this misfortune into a blessing. It is very rare for all five kage to convene in one place. What do you all say to this? How about during this time… while we attempt to sort out and put an end to the Akatsuki that we establish the world's first Allied Shinobi forces of the five hidden villages?"

"Splendid idea." Danzo spoke up now, almost gleefully. "We are practically in a state of emergency... between what has happened to the hidden leaf and to the hidden cloud. Cooperation is exactly what we need at this time."

"We will need a standardized chain of command to lead the force." The Samurai looked carefully at each of the kage. "We must chose a leader. And I believe… if you all are in agreement that I should make that chose as an impartial party."

The five kage looked suspiciously at each other and then the samurai before finally nodding in agreement.

Mifune cleared his throat. "Well... the leaf has the last jinchuuriki standing. It seems to me that how the nine tails jinchuuriki is guided will be the key to defeating the Akatsuki. Therefore the hokage should lead."

Danzo smiled deviously within himself. Finally, all that he had worked for was coming to fruition.

* * *

Shikamaru stood in Lady Tsunade's tent shifting from one foot to the other. Between Ino and Sakura, he had just left the side of one crying girl and here he was standing in front of another. If nothing else, Sasuke Uchiha sure knew how to make women cry. "Geesh."

As Shikamaru entered the tent, he found Sakura standing with Sai. Her body was shaking and her face was drenched in tears. It seemed Sai had already approached Sakura with the same idea that had been swimming like mad through his own head ever since he heard that Naruto allowed himself to be severely beaten in order to protect Sasuke.

It was common knowledge that Naruto made a promise to Sakura years ago, during the time when he and everyone else believed Naruto was in love with her. He promised her that he would bring Sasuke back home no matter what, even in exchange for his own wellbeing.

Not being able to keep that promise was driving Naruto to make decisions that none of the rest of them would ever consider making. And now Shikamaru watched as Naruto did almost the same thing for Hinata. It did not matter that Hinata would never ask Naruto to sacrifice himself the way Sakura had. He would do it anyway. And it was obvious that Sabui was up to no good, but Hinata and the rest of her clan insisted on protecting him no matter what. Therefore Naruto was going to protect him too, no matter what. Shikamaru sighed. There was no coming between Hinata and Naruto, but he could start to drive a wedge between Sakura and Sasuke. So there he stood in Lady Tsunade's tent, ready to do whatever it took to end the Sasuke Uchiha problem. "It's time we did something about Sasuke. We cannot allow him to start a war between the leaf and the cloud. Sasuke has been about nothing but vengeance for most of his life. At the cost of everything, his friends, his village, even his own life. And now he has joined the Akatsuki? His death at the hands of Kumo will only spread that hatred and vengeance to others. But if we handle the situation ourselves... Look. I've come here to get consent from team seven to hunt Sasuke ourselves."

Sakura wiped at her tears but said nothing in response.

"Where is Naruto? I'll need to speak to him too." Shikamaru inquired of Sai.

"He has gone to the Raikage… to beg for mercy for Sasuke."

"What?" Shikamaru shook his head, placing his hands in his pocket. "This has gone way too far. I'll just have to…"

"No." Sakura said determinedly. She had been training for the last year with the goal of stopping Sasuke when the time came, herself. So that she could shoulder the burden and not force it all on her teammates. She had done that for far too long. But in the process, she had still managed to make another mistake. And now she was confused about whether she was crying more for Sasuke or because she had allowed Naruto to get beaten for Sasuke. Both of them should have taken the beating for Sasuke if that was what had to happen. Or perhaps... she should have taken it all on her own. "No. I will talk to Naruto. I will be the one to convince him that Sasuke must be hunted and dealt with."

* * *

"That can't be true…" Yamato frowned up at the masked man, who had just told them in detail, all of the terrible sacrifices made during Itachi's life.

Earlier...

Still in the Land of Iron, Naruto lay on his mat in an inn, trying to sleep, but still restlessly tossing and turning, when the man in the mask appeared at his window.

"If you haven't guessed yet, I'm Madara Uchiha. And I came to speak with you, Naruto Uzumaki." The man in the mask announced himself as he sat in the window frame.

"You!" Naruto charged at the man with rasengan in hand, exploding the wall and the roof and letting in the ice cold and snow from outside.

"You still haven't figured out that jutsu does not work on me?" Madara chuckled.

"What do you want?" Naruto growled at him.

Yamato appeared then, setting a wooden barrier between Naruto and the masked man and wrapping wooden restraints around Madara's chest and arms.

Kakashi appeared behind him with his chidori like a ghost in the wind. "Madara Uchiha."

"Wow! Kakashi Hatake. For an imposter, you are very skilled with that sharingan. Even I'm impressed." Madara said, actually sounding impressed. "But really I'm not here to fight. I just want to speak with Naruto… I want to know what you said to my subordinate Pain to make him change his mind and betray me."

"Like I'd talk to you about that! Tell me about Sasuke!" Naruto yelled back, griping the bars of the barrier angrily. "Why is he following you now?!"

"Well… I can do that." Madara said with a shrug. "But I'll have to tell you the truth about his older brother, Itachi, first."

* * *

"That story is unbelievable." Kakashi mumbled after Madara proceeded to tell Itachi's long and tragic story.

"It is true. Everything Itachi did was for Sasuke and for the village."

"But that makes no sense!" Naruto growled up at Madara. "Why wouldn't Sasuke rejoin the leaf then, and take up Itachi's will."

"Awww!" The man in mask replied, excitedly. "That is the million dollar question, isn't it? Will Sasuke follow Itachi's legacy or will he follow the path of vengeance and take his revenge against the hidden leaf? The answer was always easy... but you see, you people know nothing about who Sasuke truly is."

"You're the one who doesn't know Sasuke!" Naruto yelled back.

"Aww... to be so naive again." Madara sighed. "I'm sorry young one. But alas, Sasuke is one of my kind. Vengeance burns within him all the way down to his bones. His demons are his birth right. There is no taming them. Without them… there is no Sasuke Uchiha. It's the Uchiha clan's blood soaked destiny of hate."

"This destiny extends all the way back to the time of the Sage of the Sixth Paths." Madara paused and indicated Hinata as she now stood silently beside Naruto. "Ask the Hyuga there. She knows this story well. After all, the Hyuga clan truly sees everything in the present and in the past."

Naruto looked over at Hinata. She looked back at him and softly said, "He's talking about the story of Indra and Asura."

"Correct. They were the Sage of the Sixth Paths' two sons. He had spent most of his later life using ninshu in an attempt to foster world peace. But his end came before he was able to reach his goal. The sage bequeathed his will and his teachings to his two sons. Indra, who was the older son, was born with the sage's eyes, granting him chakra powers and mental energy. He knew strength and power was necessary for peace. The younger son, Asura, was born with the gift of the sage's body, granting him stamina and physical energy. He knew love and understanding was necessary for peace.

The sage's choice to overlook the older brother who sought strength and to chose his younger son who sought love is the starting point of the long cycle of hate that has formed the shinobi world. The older son could not accept his father's decision and he declared war on his younger brother. Their descendants have continued this battle through the ages forming clans and then hidden villages. The Uchiha versus the Senju. During my time, it was my fight against the First Hokage. And now standing before you, I see the Senju's Will of Fire burns brightest inside of you, Naruto Uzumaki. There is a part of the myth that says Asura and Indra will reincarnate with every age of man. And I recognize the First Hokage inside of you as much as I see myself inside of Sasuke. You are the embodiment of my friend, my rival... the man who I hated most. And they say there is truth found in every myth."

"The fact is... Sasuke is attacking the five kage summit right at this very moment." Madara said proudly from behind the mask. "Like I said before, it's who he is... his hate is his power. That will never change, Naruto."

Hinata stared at Naruto as Madara told the story and his face fell further with every word. At the end, she softly placed her hand on his defeated shoulders. He turned and looked at her with sad blue eyes. But his eyes grew bigger as he felt her push her own resolve into him through the binding seal. He needed to know that she believed in him completely and without a doubt. He would save Sasuke. He would save this world. She knew this with absolute certainty.

Hinata had heard her grandfather tell the story of Indra and Asura so many times, she could tell it herself. But Madara's words were not what reinforced Hinata's already near impenetrable belief in Naruto. There was another part to the story. A part to the story that not even Madara would know. Her clan protected this hidden knowledge as thoroughly as they protected the secrets of the byakugan. And everything made sense now. Why Kurama allowed himself to be bound to her. Why she had never felt a force stronger than her love for Naruto. She had been destined to love this man even before the day that she was born. She was Airi. And the myth prophesied that during the age when Asura finally returned Airi's love, he would also finally end the long cycle of hate.


	21. Danzo, The Deceiver

**All characters are or are based on characters owned and created by Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing.**

 **Warning: a bloody death at the end of the chapter, hopefully not too gruesome.**

* * *

"Have you located Danzo yet?" Sasuke glared down at Karin as she lay stunned on the ground, where he tossed her. His Susanoo had manifested itself and completely destroyed the cavern, in which two of the kage, A the Raikage and Gaara the Kazikage, took their stand against him. The large hall caved in on itself, trapping almost everyone, including Jugo and Suigetsu. Only he and Karin had made it out. This was his chance to slip away and find Danzo. It was time to make the man nicknamed the shinobi of darkness, pay.

"But what abut Jugo and Suigetsu? I can still feel their chakra in there. We could save them." Karin protested. She sat up and looked expectantly towards the rubble that now lay beyond the entry way. This was a first, but she did not want to be alone with Sasuke. She had often felt a bit on edge around him, but she had never actually feared him before. However, since he manifested that large chakra entity, which appeared to be an extension of his will, he felt different... almost ominous to her. She shivered against the ice cold chill that wafted off the Uchiha as he approached her.

"Forget them. Do what I ask and take me to Danzo." Sasuke walked past Karin not bothering to help her up. When she did not move quickly enough, he turned and looked at her angrily. His black eyes were cold as ice. "Now!"

* * *

"We can't say anything to anyone about what Madara said about Itachi. Especially not about the elders of the hidden leaf manipulating him into killing his own clan." Kakashi warned Naruto, Hinata, and Yamato. "We must keep this secret among the four of us. Who knows? He could be lying to provoke us into taking certain action. The hidden leaf is already very unstable after Pain's assault. Until we can be sure he is telling the truth, we cannot risk spreading his lies."

Madara had disappeared as suddenly as he appeared with his odd transportation jutsu. Kakashi looked over at the spot where the masked man once stood restrained by Yamato's wood. He had been working on theory for a few weeks now. And if his theory proved correct, he might find the one person, who could confirm or refute Madara's story about Itachi. The one person, who would be able to turn Sasuke back from his current path of destruction. That was if this person was actually still alive. "For now we need to be patient and wait. Use what's left of the night to get some sleep."

"We don't have time for this!" Naruto growled balling up his fists angrily. "If Sasuke is attacking the five kage summit…"

He was distracted by the three forms that appeared from the nearby woods. It was Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. They slid through the snow towards the leaf ninja at full speed.

"What happened here?" Kankuro inspected the huge hole in the side of the inn.

"Madara Uchiha paid us a visit," Kakashi explained as though that was an adequate enough answer. He paused and said, hesitantly. "He said Sasuke attacked the five kage summit. Is that true?"

Gaara nodded gravely. "Yes. We, Kage, stood against him, but he managed to get away. He appears to have been looking for Danzo... to kill him."

"Well what are you doing here? Where is he now?!" Naruto yelled, his breaths were coming short, uneven, and ragged now.

"We should start from the beginning." Temari answered in a surprisingly patient manner. "The Kage agreed to an allied shinobi force of the five nations. It was decided that General Mifune would be the one to choose who led the force. He chose Danzo."

"Wha? Really?" All the leaf ninja said in unison.

"Yea. But that did not last long." Temari replied. "Ao, a shinobi from the hidden mist, apparently has a stolen byakugan. During the meeting, he caught Danzo using a hidden sharingan that he supposedly stole from Shisui Uchiha. It was discovered that he had put General Mifune under a genjutsu that manipulated his thoughts, manipulating him into choosing Danzo to lead the allied forces. Anyway... while everyone was sorting out what happened with Danzo, this strange creature who calls himself, Zetsu, appeared in the middle of the conference room and told us that Sasuke Uchiha was hiding close by and preparing to attack. The Raikage killed the Zetsu and then went after Sasuke. The three of us followed too. We all fought Sasuke and almost incapacitated him, but he caused the cavern to cave in and slipped away to find Danzo. He was met by the Mizakage and the Tsuchikage and their subordinates. Danzo and his subordinates got away in the chaos of that fight. Again, the kages almost defeated Sasuke, but this time, he was saved by Madara Uchiha."

"I'll ask again! Where is he now?" Naruto demanded.

"We don't know. Madara took him. But before he left, Madara demanded that we hand over the eight tailed and the nine tailed beasts."

Kakashi frowned. "But we thought the eight tails was already captured... by Sasuke."

"Apparently, he got away from Taka and decided to take a vacation instead of returning to his village." Kankuro stated, annoyed.

"After the four remaining kage refused to hand the two remaining jinchuuriki over, Madara declared war on us. He said he will use the seven tailed beasts that he has already collected to defeat our allied forces and take the kumo jinchuuriki and Naruto." Temari stated. "He plans to recreate the Sage of the Sixth Path's ten tailed beast and become it's jinchuuriki in order to unit the entire world under some sort of powerful genjutsu. He calls it the infinite tsukuyomi."

The four konoha shinobi looked at each other silently.

"I can't believe the summit got so chaotic." Yamato eventually said, sighing and crossing his arms over his chest. "But I guess with the amount of suspicion on Danzo... we'll need another hokage."

He looked over at Kakashi. Guessing Yamato's thoughts, Kakashi sighed. "I'm really not eager to become hokage... it's not really my thing. And even so, I would still need to go back to the hidden leaf village and discuss this with jonin council."

"Did you hear what we just said?!" Temari demanded, frustrated with Kakashi's laxidasical and indecisive manner. "Madara just declared war on all of us. We don't have all the time in the world here!"

"It won't take long to get everyone on board with this." Yamato replied. "Kakashi was already the Fire Dayemo's second choice, and most of the jonin would have rather him than Danzo anyway. But let's just proceed like you have already been confirmed, Kakashi. That way we are prepared just in case Madara and the Akatsuki decide to strike before the confirmation can be completed."

Kakashi sighed again. His shoulders sagged a bit. Even though he never trusted the man, a part of him could not help but be relieved after Danzo was given the temporary position as sixth hokage. Now all of sudden, the burden had cycled back to him. He looked at Yamato ruefully. "I guess, I can't argue with that. Thanks a lot, Tenzo."

Yamato narrowed his eyes.

"And what about Sasuke?" Naruto asked quietly.

"What about the Sasuke?" Kankuno growled, still annoyed.

Gaara raised his hand for Kankuno to stop. "Naruto. The allied forces have agreed to protect the eight tails and the nine tails at all costs. As the Kazikage, I have also made that pledge. That means... if Sasuke, as a member of the Akatsuki attacks you or stands against our allied shinobi forces, I will not show him mercy."

Gaara moved closer to his friend. "I spoke to Sasuke today during the attack. Because I too have been touched by the darkness and lost my way."

His voice was grave. "I wanted to see what you saw in me back then. But... I'm afraid... I saw nothing. Sasuke has been completely consumed by the darkness. There is nothing salvageable left within him."

Gaara placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "If you are going to be hokage one day, you are going to have take on the burden of doing what is necessary. Right now... you are going to have to do what is necessary as Sasuke's friend."

"How can I ever call myself, hokage, if I can't even save a friend?" Naruto glared into Gaara's eyes. He was so angry that he did not know what to think or how to react anymore. His path had been clear for so long. He would bring Sasuke back to his home and his friends. Now all of a sudden the path had dead ended and everyone was so determined to tell him that there was no way through. He looked over at Hinata. She was staring back at him expectantly, but there still was not a single ounce of doubt in her eyes. Naruto knocked the Kazikage's hand off his shoulder and backed away, ignoring his words.

"Naruto..." Gaara started.

"Let it be, Gaara." Temari cut into the tension between the two young men. "We've said everything that we came to say. Kakashi, the sand will proceed as if you have been confirmed as hokage. We're going to go back home to our village to prepare. Let's go Gaara, Kankuno."

The three disappeared, back into the snow and the woods. Kakashi patted Naruto's shoulder. "Come on let's get that sleep. You can think on what to do about Sasuke in the morning, huh?"

"Yea. Sure. Sleep." Naruto grumbled. Sleep was the last thing on his mind. He looked back at his destroyed room. "Where am I supposed to do that, anyway?"

"You can sleep with Yamato." Carelessly Kakashi shoved a thumb at the other man as he made his way to his own sleeping quarters. "Hokage's prerogative."

"Yeah, thanks a lot!" Yamato rolled his eyes and began to head back to his sleeping area as well. He looked over at Hinata. "Can you make sure he actually gets to sleep?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded as she quietly moved close to Naruto, pulling him into a hug and resting her head against his chest. He did not resist her embrace, but through the binding seal she could feel his mind pulling away from her and deeper into himself.

"Naruto, you have to sleep." Hinata said, after awhile. She took hold of his hand and pulled him in the direction of Yamato's room. Walking him inside, she knelt down next to him as he lay on the empty mat, still holding her right hand. She rested her free hand on his cheek. It was still warm and flushed from the anger and confusion that churned inside of him. "Tomorrow your mind will be clearer and everything will seem less cloudy and confusing. I know it."

"Yea… sure. Tomorrow." Naruto closed his eyes, but squeezed Hinata's hand tighter as though to make sure she did not leave. She leaned over and softly kissed his cheek. In response, he mumbled, "don't leave yet…"

Hinata stayed there by Naruto until she heard his breaths even out. Then she looked over her shoulder towards the dark hallway and her own room. She could have sworn someone was watching them.

Confident he was finally asleep, Hinata slipped her hand from Naruto's hand and reentered the hall. She looked up and down the passage way but saw no one. Deciding her mind was just playing tricks but she should be cautious anyway, she activated her byakugan to scan the inn. She made out several forms but all were sleeping and none looked suspicious. She walked out into the hall and made her way to her room. That is when Sabui appeared from a shadow next to her doorway. It was unclear how long he had been there, he just seemed to all of the sudden appear.

"Sabui? What are you do here?" Hinata asked, shocked to see that he had followed them so far north. She walked closer to him hesitantly, something about him was off. Sabui did not respond to her question. He just leered at her silently, as something dropped from the ceiling onto Hinata's shoulder, attaching itself to her neck. Hinata swatted at the creature, but it only dug its teeth deeper into her throat. She could feel the chakra draining from her body and her mind becoming cloudy. As she collapsed to the ground, she whispered, "Neji… why?"

* * *

Naruto woke up with a start. The nightmare that terrorized his sleep continued to flood his mind with fear. His palms were sweating, his heart pounded against his chest, and his face flushed. Visions of Sasuke lost and alone in the darkness turned into Hinata lost among the shadows too. Like with Sasuke, he felt completely powerless as he tried futilely to find her and bring her back. But even after he woke, he knew his dream was not just a dream. He still felt the emptiness of her absence tear into him. He began to panic. His body hyperventilating.

"Naruto!" Yamato got up from his own sleeping mat and moved over next to the panicked young man, as Naruto clutched at his chest doubling over. "What's wrong? What's happening?"

Kakashi appeared from his room next door then too. "Naruto! Take deep breaths. You're having a panic attack."

Naruto attempted to slow his breathing but that emptiness was eating away at him. He started to feel an unbearable pain as if his entire chest had been ripped opened. All he could make out was, "Hinata… is... gone." Before he crumpled forward onto his face.

* * *

Moving slowly through the darkness of the woods, Itachi felt his way north where he sensed his tracker was headed. His eyesight was already beginning to fail. He could only make out blurred shapes, and colors were starting to fade into grays. He had not expected Sasuke's eyes to fall into darkness so quickly. His own mangekyo had lasted for almost half a year before he was forced into possessing a tailed beast in order to keep his eyesight.

When he first discovered that he was still alive, he thought about ways to reverse his inevitable blindness. When the sharingan was touched by an alternative source of chakra, whether it was from a tailed beast or natural sage chakra, it seemed to reverse the blindness. But Itachi had no desire to take on the arduous path of a sage and obtaining another tailed beast would requiring killing. His thoughts were also clouded by the frustration of being pulled from the long awaited peace that a death by Sasuke's hands would have brought him. These thoughts were mixed with the guilt that he did not deserve the relief of death. For years, his subordinate had been the one remaining connection to the place and the people who brought him the most pain, so it was fitting that she was the one who would prolonged his suffering in this hell. As long as everyone thought Sasuke had killed him, it would not affect his ultimate plan and perhaps seeing the plan through would be enough to relieve just a bit of the burden he felt. He finally made up his mind that he would just allow himself to go blind, when Masuku up and disappeared.

She had gone out as usual on one of her trips to Konoha and had never returned. He knew something was very wrong when over a week had passed, and she still was not back. She always returned to him in about a week's time. But that was before, when he possessed his own eyes. He had planned for her to be drawn to Sasuke soon after his death. Like with Naruto, a genjutsu would trigger in her presence if Sasuke activated Itachi's sharingan in close enough range. But this one gave instructions on Itachi's future wishes for his brother and how to keep her safe. However, things had not worked out as planned, it had been too long since the last time that he cast a genjutsu. And Itachi knew better than anyone that he had been the only one standing between her and madness for years.

So he began to follow her north as fast as he could travel with his limited eyesight, and in the towns that he passed through, he heard rumors about the Akatsuki and Sasuke's team, Taka. It seems that his little brother had taken the other path... the darker path. Madara had found a way to get to Sasuke.

But as long as Sasuke still believed he needed to acquire the nine tails to save his eyesight, there was already a back up plan in place. He had given the one thing that would undoubtedly stop Sasuke to the one person who would accept him back no matter what.

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes to find Sasuke staring down at her from above. "Sasuke?"

She looked around herself. They were in some sort of strange room, but she could not see its walls or its ceiling. She also could not feel Naruto or Kurama through the binding seal. It was not like when he traveled to Mount Myoboku. There was some sense of their presence though faint during those months. Now it was almost as if they were both completely gone from the world. Or perhaps… she was the one who was completely gone from the world. "What is this place?"

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke said coldly. "Just know you will be here as my captive until Naruto comes for you."

Hinata sat up, spotting Sabui and the red headed girl from Sasuke's team. "Sabui, why did you bring me here?"

"Because I told him to." Sasuke replied for his subordinate. "This is what you get for being too loyal and trusting. You should be more like me, don't you think?"

Hinata looked at Sasuke. But there was no anger in her eyes. Just sadness and a bit of pity. He did not like that look, so he snarled at her. "Also. Don't be too much like Naruto. It will only get you killed."

The man in the orange mask appeared then. Sasuke turned to him and demanded, "Get me out of here! NOW!"

"You should be thanking me, Sasuke." Madara scolded. "I saved your life and brought you here with the rest of your team... or what's left of them. And where were you planning on stashing the girl, anyway... if I had not intervened and transported your comrade and your captive here? Anywhere else and the nine tails jinchuuriki would have found her instantly."

"I would have thought of something." Arrogantly, Sasuke waved his hand in Madara's direction, dismissively.

"I'm sure you would have… but right now, I have something even better for you. I have something that you desperately want."

"Oh yea? What is that?" Sasuke replied skeptically.

"Danzo is waiting for you, just outside of here." Madara pulled Sasuke, Karin, and Sabui into his transportation, leaving Hinata alone in the other dimension.

* * *

"Take Naruto back to the village. I'll track down whoever took Hinata -though I already have a pretty good idea who did it." Kakashi threw on his traveling cloak as Yamato lifted an unconscious Naruto up onto his back.

Yamato paused. "Who do you think took her?"

"There was no struggle. So whoever it was -she knew them." Kakashi replied. "Everyone has been suspicious of that altered Hyuga boy except the Hyuga clan. I'm certain now that he was probably sent to Konoha by Sasuke, in order to take Hinata. They are trying to get to Naruto and the nine tails. What is unclear is how they were able to severe the binding seal so thoroughly. She is definitely still alive... they wouldn't have bothered to take her if they planned to kill her."

Yamato nodded. "Cutting the binding seal has had a very bad affect on Naruto. Particularly with all that is going on with Sasuke."

"I would keep him as calm as possible until you get back to the village... or you might end up fighting the nine tailed fox on your own out there." Kakashi instructed.

Yamato shifted Naruto to his other shoulder and then took off back towards the village.

Kakashi looked up at the roof of the inn. "You can come out now."

Sai appeared from the shadows on the roof, hopping lightly down to the snow.

"What are you doing here Sai?"

"I am just a clone." Sai replied stoically. "The real me is following Sakura towards Sasuke's position in the Land of Iron. The decision was made by the rest of Naruto's comrades to go after Sasuke and deal with him themselves. Sakura wanted to be the one to speak to Naruto about going after Sasuke. Sakura, Kiba, Lee and I were sent with her. But I had a feeling that Sakura planned to ditch us and go off on her own, so I placed a clone among them and then tracked the group from behind. Just a few minutes ago, Sakura ambushed the rest of the group with a gas bomb. She's taken off after Sasuke by herself."

Kakashi sighed. "Can anything else go wrong? Sakura will get herself killed going after Sasuke by herself. Come on, I have to go after her."

He figured this would still bring him closer to finding Hinata.

* * *

Danzo removed the rest of the bandage from his right arm. The arm was paler than the rest of his body and it was filled from the bicep all the way to the wrist with sharingan. He lifted his palm towards the mountain beyond the bridge and the eye opened, revealing a white byakugan.

"Where did you get all of those sharingan?" Sasuke snarled. He knew exactly where he had gotten the byakugan. It was Sabui's right eye. The one that had been replaced by that ugly black parasite.

Danzo ignored Sasuke. "Come out girl. I know you are hiding over there."

"Forget that! Face me! I'm your opponent." Sasuke demanded as he activated his chidori lightning cutter. So far, Danzo had managed to escape all of his other attacks. Sasuke had already attempted his amaterasu twice to no avail. Danzo was just erasing his attacks, and coming out completely unscathed each time. The elder possessed some sort of powerful jutsu which he claimed made him immortal, but Sasuke was calling his bluff. The jutsu appeared to be connected to that arm full of sharingan and like any jutsu connected to the sharingan, the young Uchiha was certain there had to be a weakness.

At Danzo's beckoning, a young woman with disheveled long red hair appeared from behind some rocks. She was stumbling around as though not completely in control of herself. Ignoring Sasuke, she stared intensely at Danzo. She wore the ninja flak jacket of a konoha jonin, but it and the rest of her clothes were torn almost to shreds. Her violet eyes were wild with madness. Sasuke recognized that look. It was the same look that Jugo got when he changed forms.

Danzo retreated from Sasuke and made some hand seals. "Suki Harami... Masuku. Listen to me. He is your enemy."

The leaf elder pointed towards Sasuke. Masuku turned to look at the young man. She tilted her head slightly as though recognizing something in him, and then she started to shake her head violently. As she shook her head, she began to transform. Her hair turning black and shaggy. Her eyes solemn and black, her body thick and tall. Now Sasuke recognized this form. He frowned. It was Itachi. He would have thought this was a genjutsu if he had not already recognized that Danzo was attempting to place the woman under himself.

But Danzo's genjutsu did not last long. The young woman shifted back to her previous form and turned to growl wildly at Danzo in anger. The kunoichi appeared to have some sort of resistance to chakra manipulation.

"It seems like she does not care to listen to you." Sasuke observed tauntingly. He wiped the sweat from his brow and set his feet. He had used the distraction of the woman's appearance to set up his next move, placing his own subtle genjutsu over Danzo.

"I have to give you credit for placing me under a genjutsu." Danzo released himself from the illusion quickly, but he had already been under for just enough time. Sasuke appeared behind Danzo with his sword ready to strike. But he was stopped by an invisible force mid step.

Masuku was also being held in place by the same invisible force as she raged against it to get at Danzo.

The curse marks began to appear, starting from their feet and winding up onto their chests and necks.

"But you are still no where near to the skill level of Itachi." Danzo stated calmly. "And you, Masuku. Well, it's a good thing that I always place curse marks on all of my subordinates."

"How?" Sasuke managed to get out before the curse mark made it to his mouth.

"Aww." Danzo smiled maliciously. "When I struck you the last time, it was not to injure you, it was to place one of my curse marks on your body."

Karin appeared then. In a panic over the sight of a paralyzed Sasuke, she came running onto the battlefield from her hiding spot on the side. But she was quickly thorted by Danzo's powerful sidekick. It sent her flying into a pile of rocks, burying her underneath.

"No use wasting ninjutsu against that one." Danzo said, arrogantly, as he pulled the sword from Sasuke's hands. "So you've come after me because you now know what happened between the elders and Itachi so many years ago, do you?

But was it our manipulation, or Itachi's need to save **_you_** that was the Uchiha clans' ultimate downfall? And what a waste. Look at you. The pathetic trash that you have become."

"Take a good look at your little brother, Itachi, wherever you are. Look what you have created. This state that he is in." Danzo raised Sasuke's sword and swung at his throat. "This boy is your ultimate mistake without a doubt."

As the sword grazed his throat, Sasuke's susanoo activated, surrounding him with fiercely cold chakra and knocking Danzo back and away.

This susanoo flared even fiercer than before, taking full form and breaking Sasuke free of the curse mark while maintaining flesh and armor over its own structure. It held a bow and arrow, which it loaded and aimed at Danzo.

Quickly, Danzo made some hand seals and shouted, "Release!"

His right arm sprouted wood, stretching out and grabbing hold of Masuku, quickly shifting her into the path of the arrow. The young woman's rage spewed from her as the curse mark released. Multiple large chakra chains released from her body, catching the arrow mid flight and ripping it to pieces. As the arrow disappeared, Danzo's wood wrapped further around her, restraining her body further so she was completely trapped inside a miniature winding oak tree.

* * *

Madara, who had been watching the fight quietly beside Sabui from a safe distance above, chuckled. "So that is how he's managed to control all those sharingan. He had the First Hokage's cells implanted in him. And a byakugan to boot. I always knew Orochimaru was way too clever for his own good."

Sabui looked over at Madara with his left eye. He growled, "Orochimaru isn't that clever. He's dead."

Madara tsked and replied, lightly, "I wouldn't be too sure about that."

* * *

Finally digging herself out of the rubble, Karin ran towards Sasuke and Danzo's position again. "Sasuke! Those hand seals Danzo made. It wasn't for the curse mark! He has reactivated the jutsu that makes him invincible!"

Karin could feel Danzo's chakra shift forms as he activated the Izanagi. Sasuke's susanoo sent another arrow flying quickly after the first, and it met its mark piercing through Danzo's chest. But as he died, the old man just faded away as though he were a mere illusion.

* * *

"Humm…" Madara said, thoughtfully. "I count ten Sharingan on that arm. A byakugan and Hashiromo's cells. So he is trying to control the nine tails. And I'm sure he planned to turn the girl into his own personal jinchuuriki. Perhaps seal himself to her, too. What do you think?"

Ignoring Madara's question, Sabui asked, suspiciously. "Better question? What are you after? Why did you lure Sasuke into this fight, when I'm sure you could have handled Danzo yourself."

"Sasuke's power must... mature... before he is useful to me." Madara replied simply. He looked over at the Hyuga, and Sabui could almost feel his smile through his mask. "But don't worry. You are just as important to me as Sasuke."

* * *

Karin felt Danzo's chakra drop significantly after he used the Izanagi again. Another one of the eyes on his right arm closed. She was certain all of this was connected. And the jutsu was powerful enough that he could only hold it for so long.

She watched as Danzo ran towards Sasuke's position. Another arrow hit him, but again he faded away, reforming completely unscathed as if Sasuke's attack never even happened.

"This is terrible." She whispered to herself. "All of Sasuke's attacks are being erased while all of Danzo's attacks are kept. This jutsu has to have a weakness."

* * *

"Danzo has stooped to using a forbidden jutsu against Sasuke." Madara continued his unwanted play by play for Sabui. "The Izanagi turns the reality that surrounds its user into a mere illusion. So any damage done to the wielder can be undone by turning it into a illusion too. And then, the user can start all over again. Of course the one enormous draw back to the Izanagi is that any eye that uses this jutsu will immediately fall into darkness. And unlike most jutsu connected to the mangekyo, there is no way to reverse or prevent this from happening."

"But with all of those eyes… He wanted to extend the amount of time that he could use the jutsu. The more sharingan... the longer the jutsu can be used. So he chose to become one of Orochimaru's lab rats, too." Madara looked over at Sabui and said apologetically, "Rats are highly intelligent creatures of course."

"Whatever." Sabui snapped, irritated.

Just then Danzo made some hands seals creating a summoning jutsu. A large half elephant and half tiger like creature appeared on the bridge. It began to roar and suck in massive amounts of air, pulling Sasuke's susanoo with it. The chakra structure was giving way, but not completely.

"The baku. The devourer of nightmares. What else does that old geezer have up his sleeve?" Madara asked suspiciously.

Danzo moved behind Sasuke, spewing his dangerously strong wind style jutsu from his mouth and ripping apart the back of the susanoo.

"Fire style jutsu!" Sasuke spewed a large blast of fire at the baku causing it to swallow the flames and stifling its vacuum like mouth.

Danzo came at Sasuke in the direction of the susanoo's weak point. As he got close, the susanoo swung. Its fist made impact with the left side of Danzo's body and sent him flying into a pilar. As Danzo hit the pilar, the baku disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke and what remained of his susanoo dove towards Danzo, striking downward into his chest, crushing it and forcing the elder to use another eye.

"Clever boy." Danzo stated. "I think Sasuke has figured it out."

"What?" Sabui asked, curiously.

"The battle is over once all of Danzo's eyes are shut. This battle is all about who can out last who." Madara paused. "Of course there is another way."

* * *

Sasuke and Danzo ran at each other with chakra blades ready to strike. They both pierced through the lower thorax of their opponent in what appeared to be a stand off. Danzo smiled as he attempted to activate his Izanagi one more time. But the jutsu failed.

Now Sasuke smiled maliciously. He released the genjutsu and the last sharingan on Danzo's arm closed. "You are dead, old man."

Mortally wounded, Danzo collapsed back, grasping at his right arm. Sasuke used the last bit of energy and pivoted forward to slice through Danzo's wrist, causing his right hand to drop off. "That byakugan does not belong to you."

Unable to control the implanted cells any further, a large tree began to sprout out of the side of Danzo's body.

Karin ran out to Sasuke as he also collapsed in pain. His wounds were almost as bad as Danzo's wounds and he was coughing up blood now. She propped him back up and said, "here take my arm. Have some of my chakra."

Placing her arm to Sasuke's mouth, she winced as he bit down. He drew as much chakra as quickly as he could from Karin, healing himself in the process.

But Danzo had already severed off the rest of his right arm and was coming at them again. He grabbed Karin and pulled her up by the neck in front of him. He pressed down on her throat, choking her.

"Help me Sasuke!" Karin choked out, weakly. Her face began to turn red as she futilely swatted at Danzo's arm.

"How pathetic." Sasuke stood up and activated his chidori. He narrowed his eyes at Danzo. He did not even bother to activate his sharingan again. "Taking a little girl as a hostage. This from the man who has extolled self sacrifice."

"I'm not doing this for myself!" Danzo replied, dramatically, placing even more pressure on Karin's neck as she continued to struggle to escape. "I must live for the leaf village and the shinobi world's sake! Because I will be the one… the reformer who will change this shinobi world... I cannot die."

"You think way too much of yourself." Sasuke replied, sarcastically. Then he spoke to the young woman who was held captive. "Don't move Karin. Hold very still."

"Ok." Karin smiled thankfully at her comrade and stopped struggling against her captor as Sasuke instructed. Then he recklessly pierced through her body into Danzo's chest and into Danzo's heart with his chidori spear. Blood sputtered from Karin's mouth as the jutsu went through her and into the elder.

"One down… soon the rest will follow, big brother." Sasuke smiled maliciously.

"But Sasuke… what was I to you? How could you?" Karin's head lulled forward and she crumpled to the ground. Weakly she moaned, "we were... your friends."

"We were never friends. You were always just a means to an end." Sasuke replied coldly, as he stepped over her body to follow Danzo who was attempting to retreat. "Besides, you got yourself captured... your useless to me now."

As Danzo limped away, attempting to save himself, a large cracking sound was heard nearby as Masuku finally freed herself from the prison of Danzo's tree.

Grunting and growling, Masuku ran like a wild animal at the elder. Her chakra chains extended from her back, wrapping themselves around Danzo's body and ripping. She pounced on him. Slashing and ripping until she was completely covered in his blood.

Sasuke stopped his approach, narrowing his eyes at the crazed woman. She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Sardonically, he remarked. "That was my kill."

The woman stopped her butchering, and her head jerked back towards Sasuke. Though her face was now completely covered in Danzo's blood, soaking her long hair as it stuck to her face, Sasuke was certain he had seen that face before. Recognition came to her eyes again too, as she looked into Sasuke's eyes. She stood up and moved away from her prey and towards Sasuke, grunting two words, "Itachi's eyes."

"I'm not Itachi." Sasuke sneered, as he finally realized who she reminded him of. Naruto Uzumaki. "Who are you anyway?"

The young woman narrowed her eyes at Sasuke as though taken aback. She shook her head as if trying to shake out her thoughts. Then she started to grunt again, before charging wildly at Sasuke.

He leapt back to avoid her chains. But before he could counter or even activate his sharingan, Madara appeared between them, his robes flying. His mask was lifted, but Sasuke could only see his back. Masuku growled at the older Uchiha, but a second later, her eyes rolled up into her head and she dropped like a sack of rocks to the ground.


	22. Remember, Me & You

**Warning: The beginning of this chapter is made up of multiple flash backs**

* * *

"Pssst! Kid!" A deep voice called to the blond boy lying face down in a foot of water. Bubbles quietly floated to the surface of the stagnate pool as the sleeping boy slowly drowned himself. "Kid! Wake Up!"

Abruptly pulled from sleep, Naruto opened his eyes, choking as he inhaled water into his lungs. He thrashed about before hoisting himself up and out of the water, gagging and coughing out all of the foul liquid from his chest. He pounded his fist against his sternum and croaked out the last bit. Shaking the wet hair from his eyes, he mumbled, "Where am I?"

Kurama's head slid forward into the dim light that illuminated the chamber outside of the seal. He smiled his sharp toothed and wily grin before reaching through the open gate and taping Naruto on the forehead with one single long claw.

Naruto's head fell backwards and he felt himself dragged into the blackness of long forgotten memories...

* * *

A five year old Hinata kneeled in the snow, cold and crying. Her tears were freezing into tiny icicles as they slid from her eyes down her cheeks. Her green scarf was ripped to shreds from being pulled in so many different directions. She was too scared to look up. She was afraid those bullies would come back to yank her hair again and tease her about her white eyes.

She was only allowed to venture outside the Hyuga compound with her father or an escort. And that had only happened once or twice. This was the first time she had ever been out alone, and so far, the adventure was nothing but one traumatic event after another.

She sensed the presence of someone standing over her. Then a hand appeared in front of her face. She looked up into the black and blue swollen eyes of the blond boy who had saved her. Blood ran from his broken nose dripping down the front of his worn cotton shirt. There was a hole at the tail and he wasn't even wearing a jacket though it was freezing outside. The bright red wool scarf that he had been wearing to protect his neck was ripped to shreds and hung from a nearby tree, just high enough so that the boy could not reach it.

"You ok kid?" The boy asked, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his sleeve.

"Y-yes." Hinata answered timidly. She reached up and took the offered hand. "Th-thank you."

The boy pulled her up and said, "No prob. Where do you live anyway? I'll walk you home and make sure you get there safe."

The blond boy scowled over his shoulder at the place where the gang of bullies had disappeared. "These parts are rough for weirdos like us. You with your white eyes and me with my… well ya know. Stick with me though, kid. You'll be alright."

Hinata was not quite sure what the boy was talking about. But he had not let go of her hand yet, and he was already pulling her in the direction that she pointed when he asked where she lived.

"By the way, what's your name, kid?"

"Hinata… Hinata Hyuga."

The blond boy stopped and smiled a bright, wide, and toothy smile down at her. The smile warmed Hinata's heart and stopped her tears. It was the most beautiful smile that Hinata had ever seen. He stuck out his chest and shoved a thumb into it. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Future Hokage!"

Naruto's head fell back and again he dropped into the blackness of another memory…

* * *

A twelve year old Hinata Hyuga folded her legs closer into her chest as she waited on the steps of the ninja academy. She pushed her short bobbed black hair back from her face and rested her chin on her knees, as she silently watched all of the other students jovially pass by, laughing and talking excitedly among themselves about their new forehead protectors, the teams that they would soon be joining, and the delicious mystery of their prospective jonin team leader.

Soon the academy steps cleared and Hinata was left alone. Everyday, she stopped at this same spot to wait because he was always the last student to leave after class. Sometimes, it took an entire hour before Iruka finally released him, but Hinata still waited patiently for Naruto before she made her way home too.

Iruka sensei had this idea that he was punishing Naruto by keeping him later than the other students… for throwing spit balls at the back of Choji's head. Or supergluing Kiba to his chair, so that the Inuzuka had to unpants himself to get up. Or like today, for fighting with Sasuke over who was going to sit next to Sakura. Well that did not go exactly as planned. And much to the wrath of most of the female student population, Naruto may have been Sasuke's first kiss as a result. But Hinata was suspicious that Naruto made all of that trouble because he wanted Iruka to keep him after class. Though she had no proof of this, because hiding behind trees and in bushes as she watched him walk alone to his apartment, was about as close as she ever dared to get to Naruto Uzumaki.

"So I see you're here again today, young Hinata." A gruff voice came from behind her.

Hinata hopped up from her designated step and almost tumbled down the rest of them. Meekly, she responded, "ummm… yes." Then she turned around to find the Third Hokage standing behind her and her face burned bright red.

"Don't pass out yet." Hiruzen Sarutobi warned with a gleeful twinkle to his brown eyes. "I need to speak to you about something very important."

"Ummm… yes, sir… Lord Hokage." That was all Hinata could manage to get out as her legs wobbled underneath her. What could an important ninja like the Third Hokage want with her?

"Beautiful day, is it not?" Lord Third asked, moving down the steps to stand next to Hinata. "But I don't think that is why you are sitting out here by yourself."

"No sir... yes sir... I mean..." Her voice drifted off as her face burned even redder.

"Tell me, Hinata. What do you think about Naruto Uzumaki?" The third hokage shifted his pipe in his mouth and crossed his hands behind his back curiously waiting for her answer.

"N-naruto?" Hinata asked timidly. She had not expected to be asked about her long time crush. She had not thought anyone noticed her affection for him. Particularly not the hokage. Had she been too obvious?

"Yes. Naruto." Lord Hokage repeated in a warm and friendly tone. "You seem to care about him a great deal. And I also care about Naruto. So I've spent a long time considering what it would be like to be so young and so alone. I think he needs friends like us in his life. Don't you think so too?"

Hinata nodded her head quietly, now staring at the older man intently.

"Good. I just want to make sure Naruto has at least one good friend who he can always count on, no matter what." The Hokage smiled down at the girl and reached out, patting Hinata's head. "Well got to be going. I don't want to be in the way when Naruto gets out here from class. You, young kids, don't need an old man like me hanging around."

Lord Third moved off, making his way to the center of the village.

Not long before...

"Aww man!" Naruto's head fell forward and his forehead hit the desk in front of him.

"It's your own fault… I just don't understand why you always have to cause such a disturbance." Iruka stood on the other side of Naruto's desk with his arms crossed. He paused for affect but he was not done scolding. "You are a genin now. You're graduating from the academy. These childish pranks have just got to stop."

Naruto sighed, rolling his head to the side so he could stare at the door. Not only was he being held hostage in Iruka's classroom again, but now he was promised a mind numbingly boring lecture from Grandpa Hokage. He groaned as the door slid open and Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped into the classroom.

"Can you leave us for a moment Iruka?" The third hokage made his way to the seat closest to Naruto's side.

"Yes, sir." Iruka gave Naruto a look which said, 'behave' before he left his classroom. Naruto promptly ignored this look and snuck a whoopee cushion in the seat next to him before the hokage could sit down.

He chuckled, but then his face quickly fell as the hokage took his seat in silence.

"So you're enjoying another afternoon of remediation I see." Hiruzen commented, smirking at Naruto's confused face.

"So what of it, Gramps?" Naruto looked underneath the hokage's chair to make sure that his trick had not fallen on the ground.

"I was hoping you might want to enjoy your first day as a genin." Hiruzen indicated the new headband on Naruto's forehead. "Maybe celebrate with your friends… and your new team."

"What friends?" Naruto grumbled. "Sakura wasn't too interested in hanging around with me. And I'd rather eat dirt than spend time with that jerk, Sasuke Uchiha."

"Well then…" Hiruzen sighed. "Sakura and Sasuke… that friendship will come about one day. But how about today you do me a favor and spend a little time with Hinata, huh?"

"You mean that weird girl from the Hyuga Clan, who never says anything?" Naruto frowned at the older man. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because I'm asking you to. She's sitting by herself outside. I think it would be a nice gesture to keep her company today." Lord third replied, curtly. "Besides there's a bowl of ramen at the end of it."

"Really? Any kind I want?" Naruto asked suspiciously. This was not the first time the hokage had approached him about Hinata. But Naruto just did not get the point in talking to her. Hinata hardly ever said anything back. So he usually just ignored Lord Third, but if ramen was involved, maybe he could make another attempt. "From Ichiraku's? And all I gotta do is talk to Hinata?"

Lord Third nodded, not relishing stooping to bribery, but knowing it got the quickest results.

"Fine." Naruto stood up from his chair with his arms crossed. Out of all of his classmates, he minded the least talking to Hinata, anyway. She was not like the other kids, who were always being so... judgy. He could completely be himself, as she listened and nodded understandingly. Besides Sasuke Uchiha, who looked at him with the same disdainful scowl that he gave to everyone else, she was the only one who never looked at him with nervous or pitying eyes like the rest of the village. She was weird, but he kind of liked her. "It's your loss, Gramps."

"Good." Hiruzen pulled Naruto back down into his chair by the tail of his orange sweat shirt. "Finish your detention first. Hinata will be waiting for you outside when you are done."

The old man got up and moved to leave. Then he paused, pulling Naruto's whoopee cushion out of his robes. "By the way, I think you dropped this in my seat by accident."

later…

As promised, Hinata was seated on the steps when Naruto left the academy building that day. Of course, she had been seated on that same step everyday for months, but he never bothered to notice before.

"Hey ho! Hinata!' Naruto called as he made his way over to her.

Hinata stood up and turned around surprised that Naruto was actually talking to her. "N..naru…"

Hinata's face turned red, then violet, then she began to pass out. She would have tumbled head first down the steps if Naruto had not caught hold of her jacket, pulling her back up into his arms.

She looked up into his big blue eyes and swooned. "Naruto, you caught me."

"Of course, I did." Naruto's bright grin filled his face. "You really are strange, Hinata. But I kinda like it, ya know! I think we're going to be real good friends."

Startled, Hinata's white eyes opened up wide. "We're going to be friends?"

Naruto fell further into the blackness again entering another memory...

* * *

Now thirteen, Hinata stopped abruptly in some shadows beyond the main path and watched as Sasuke gently lay Sakura on a nearby bench. It was apparent Sakura was unconscious, but how she got that way was not clear. Sasuke could have been the cause. But the way he picked her up out of the street and carefully lay her on the bench, before affectionately moving strands of pink hair out of her face, suggested otherwise.

As a result of being naturally reserved, Hinata had bear witness to a number of things that others managed to otherwise overlook. But this softer and gentler version of Sasuke was not one of them.

After placing his unconscious teammate on the bench, Sasuke looked around as if to make sure no one saw him and then he disappeared.

Hinata came out of the shadows and made her way to Sakura's side. The pink haired girl was breathing easy and her pulse was steady. But she still was not waking up. Hinata looked up and down the street before spotting Naruto further down the path and coming that way.

"Naruto!" Hinata called and waved him over to them. Quickly, he came running.

"What happened to Sakura?" Naruto demanded in a panic.

"I saw her with Sasuke and then..." Hinata started.

"Sasuke..." Naruto growled. "What did he do to Sakura? Where is that jerk?"

Hinata shrunk back a little at Naruto's apparent anger but then she cleared her head and as confidently as she could manage, she said, "We should get Sakura to the hospital. Can you carry her?"

Naruto calmed himself and looked at Hinata. "Good thinking. You're the best Hinata."

He lifted Sakura off the bench and quickly carried her through the village to the nearby hospital.

The next day...

Hinata found Naruto sitting on the steps outside of the hospital. He was holding a bunch of droopy flowers in his hands. She sat down next to him before she asked, "how is Sakura?"

Naruto looked up, as though just noticing Hinata after she spoke. He said solemnly, "She checked herself out of the hospital already."

Hinata eyed the flowers. Naruto looked down at his hands and dropped the flowers on the ground, before he said, "I had to tell her that Sasuke left the village last night and he hasn't returned. She didn't take it very well. Maybe… maybe Kakashi Sensei should have told her."

"I'm sorry Naruto." Hinata forgot her shyness and placed her hand over his hand, gripping tight. She knew what Sasuke meant to Naruto. She had watched first hand as Naruto grew from a lonely, isolated, and troubled child to a strong and determined ninja as Sasuke and the rest of team seven became like his family. Now with Sasuke gone and Sakura sad, he had to feel so lost.

"I promised Sakura that I'd bring Sasuke back." Naruto informed Hinata. "She loves him… and I… well I care a lot about her."

"I know." Hinata said softly. She felt a little sting in her heart as she listened to Naruto confess his feelings for Sakura. But she ignored it, squeezing his hands tighter. "And I know you can do it! If anyone can bring Sasuke back to the village, it's you, Naruto."

"Thanks Hinata." Naruto smiled and pulled the girl next to him into a hug.

Hinata took the hug, but she was too shocked at finding herself inside of Naruto's arms to return it.

Naruto mumbled pushing his face into her shoulder. "With friends like you by my side, I know I can bring Sasuke home."

Naruto felt his head fall back again as he fell through the blackness of another memory…

* * *

"Are you really sure... sure that this beetle... will be able to find Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled in his sleep as he flailed around on his mat.

Irritated by the noise, Kiba whacked Naruto in the head with his pillow before turning over to go back to sleep. The impact of the pillow caused Naruto to sit up out of his sleep with a start. "Huh?"

"Aww man. It's still night." He looked around the dark tent at his sleeping comrades and then he started to realize that he needed to relieve himself. Crawling out of the tent, he made his way to a clump of bushes.

On his way back, he caught sight of something that appeared to be glowing. He stopped and listened to the sound of rushing water, before deciding to head that direction. Stooping down behind some bushes, he peered through the leaves. What he saw made his breath catch in his throat. "Wow..."

A beautiful girl was dancing inside of the waterfall. The water fell around her like colorful crystals of light, surrounding her, moving with her, illuminating the shape of her curves. Not only was she beautiful, she was also completely naked. Even in the shadows he could make out the outline of her hips and chest. Naruto was so entranced by the sight of this girl that he absentmindedly stepped out of the bushes, slipping clumsily on some slick rocks and fell face first into the water.

"SPLASH!"

The sound startled the sprite of a girl, who scampered across the pond away from the trespasser.

Naruto splashed around awkwardly in the pond, trying to right himself before the girl got away. But as he stood up out of the water, drenched from head to toe, the girl fled quietly into some bushes on the other side. Naruto moved to follow, but he did not quite have his head on straight yet. He found himself seated back in the water. "Damn it."

The next morning...

Both Shino and Kiba were questioning why Naruto was so wet. Hinata, however, packed her bag silently and squeaked in surprise every time someone attempted to speak to her.

She knew exactly why Naruto was so wet. And she wondered if he really did not know that he saw her in the middle of the pond last night, or if he was just too embarrassed to speak of the incident.

Apparently, it was the former. "Who cares if I'm wet! I saw the most... ultra-pretty girl... ever!" Naruto was animatedly retelling his adventure from the previous night to Kiba. He sat down on a log and sighed. His blue eyes stared dreamily into space. "She's the prettiest girl, I've ever seen. Even prettier than Sakura... and I bet nicer too..."

Naruto eyed Hinata, who was trying to be as quiet and as unassuming as possible. A thought passed through his mind... 'I bet she's nice like Hinata'. Then he gulped. "I think I'm in love."

Hinata squeaked before her hand could slap across her mouth to stop it. She froze in place. Did Naruto just say he was in love with her? She felt her legs wobble. This was more than she could handle.

"Really? Who was she?" Kiba eyed Hinata curiously.

"I don't know. She ran away before I could even ask her name."

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Hinata's face was turning bright red as she pulled her bulky jacket tighter around her. She had thought she was far enough away from their campsite to safely be naked without anyone seeing. When she saw Naruto fall into the water, she almost passed out herself.

"Too bad old pal." Kiba slapped Naruto on the back. "But… she would have probably gone for me over you anyhow."

"WHAT?! No way a girl like that would be interested in a dogface like you!" Naruto yelled angrily, ringing his fist in Kiba's impassive face. He turned and stomped over to Hinata until he was almost in her face. "What do you think Hinata? Whose better? ME or HIM?!"

Hinata's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and this time, she actually did pass out.

Naruto fell again into the abyss, lost again only to resurface in another memory...

* * *

"Wake up!"

"Uuummm... just five more minutes with her." Naruto mumbled in his sleep.

"With who? Wake up!"

Naruto groaned, as a hand violently attempted to shake him awake from one of the best dreams that he had ever had. He sleepily mumbled, "leave us alone, kay?"

"Ooooh! Really? What were you dreaming about, huh? Or should I say who?" Jiraiya's taunting voice boomed in Naruto's ear as his master poked him awake. "Was it a girlfriend? The way you've been smiling and moaning in your sleep, I bet it was a girlfriend."

Finally fully awake, Naruto sat up and pulled his sleeping cap down over his eyes, before groaning loudly. "It was not about a girlfriend. I was dreaming about Ichiraku's... I really miss that place."

"Sure. Food." Jiraiya said with a bit of skepticism and a lot of disappointment in his voice.

Naruto had lied. He was dreaming about a girl. But he certainly was not about to tell the perv, well known as the pervy sage, about his very personal dream. Besides, he was still a little shellshocked by his own explicit thoughts. If he had dreamt about Sakura, it would have made sense. But the fact that he managed to have the steamiest dream that he had ever experienced in his entire life about Hinata was extremely confusing.

He shook his blond head. He was certain that copying that pervy manuscript of Jiraiya's was starting to mess with his mind.

"Are you suuurrre there was no girl?" Jiraiya asked again, wiggling his eyebrows in encouragement. "Maybe you were kissing the girl in between eating the food?"

"NO!" Naruto climbed out of his sleeping pad and clambered towards the bathroom to get away from Jiraiya's creepy interrogation.

"Well I could have sworn that I heard you say a name... like Hia... or Hilda..." Jiraiya tapped the side of his head and smiled, knowingly. "Or Maaaybeeee... Hinata?"

"What!?" Naruto's face turned bright red. "It was nothing like that. Hinata? Really? She's just my friend... what are you thinking... what are you saying... you... you pervy old man?"

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes at his student. "Are you sure she's just a friend?"

"OF COURSE!" Naruto slipped past his sensei and slammed the bathroom door.

* * *

…Naruto woke up with a start. He threw his covers off, breathing hard and in a cold sweat.

"So you're finally awake?" Yamato asked from the other side of the room.

"I was dreaming…" Naruto spoke to himself, looking around the room. "Where am I now?"

Yamato crawled closer to Naruto. "We're still in the north... close to the Land of Iron. You took ill. I'm taking you back to the hidden leaf village."

"Where is Hinata? And don't tell me she is dead." Naruto balled up his fists in frustration, bracing himself for what Yamato was about to say.

"We don't think she is dead." Yamato replied. "Kakashi thinks Sabui took her... under Sasuke's orders."

"No." Naruto shook is head, defiantly. "If that were the case, I'd be able to sense her. I'd know exactly where she is. There's someone else involved."

"Well the best thing you can do is rest. Kakashi went to track down Sabui. He'll contact us once he finds them."

Naruto moved to get up off of his pad. "If Sasuke has her, he took her to get to me. I need to go after her..."

"But we don't know where they are yet. Kakashi will contact us, as soon as he finds them." Yamato said, forcefully pushing Naruto back down. "You're in no state to handle Sasuke right now anyway. Sleep and eat. Soon we'll continue on our way."

"Yea. Sure." Naruto threw the cover over his head in defeat.

Yamato sat and watched Naruto sleep for awhile. He was worried. Naruto had not touched a bite to eat, and until now, he had been thrashing around restlessly in his sleep. For the last hour, Naruto had been very still. Yamato narrowed his eyes, something was a miss. Then Naruto disappeared completely into a puff of smoke.

Meanwhile...

The real Naruto had escaped through a hole in the floor of the inn and was running through the snowy woods towards the direction that he sensed Sasuke. His sage mode was already activated. Like with Pain, he still had no idea what he planned to do once he met his best friend, old rival, and ex teammate again. But what he did know was that he was going to get Hinata back, no matter what.

' _Good kid. Now you're thinking straight_.' A deep voice growled from deep within him.

* * *

Sakura leaned forward to peer into the dark tunnel under the bridge, where she heard voices. She steeled herself for the task before her and attempted to set aside her feelings. The set of feelings, which still clung to all of those years with him, so long ago. She had too many conflicting emotions churning around in her chest, so she was still not certain what she planned to do when she reached the edge of the bridge. Then she found a gruesome mutilated body on top of the bridge, and not far away, a red headed girl lay, bleeding out, barely breathing, and nearing death. Sakura recognized her. She was from Sasuke's team, Taka. Whatever had happened there that day, witnessing the end results pushed Sakura the final few steps towards the tunnel.

"Are you sure this will work, senpai?" Sabui was speaking from within the darkness.

"He'll come for Hinata." Sasuke replied without an ounce of doubt in his voice. "I know this because apparently a little mouse was sent ahead to spy."

"What mouse? I checked the tunnel. It's empty." Sabui retorted.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

Sakura turned in shock to find Sasuke suddenly standing right next her. He drew his sword, holding it up within her sight line. "Will you make this hard or easy, Sakura?"

Sakura frowned up at him. She noticed his robes now. He wore the same robe that was worn by all of the members of the Akatsuki. So it was true. He had joined that evil group. And now he had kidnapped Hinata too. She always knew that kid, Sabui, was up to no good. Sakura demanded, "Where is Hinata? Naruto and Hinata were officially engaged to be married a few days ago. Why would you want to hurt them like this? You need to let her go, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked back at his old teammate as though expecting her to laugh and say she was joking. "Does that sound like something I would do? And you're asking the wrong question. The question is… where is Naruto? And why are you here instead of him?"

Frustrated, Sakura punched down, exploding the rocky wall outside of the tunnel and forcing Sasuke back and away from her. She ran into the tunnel and grabbed Sabui by the collar, shaking him. "You're going to tell me where she is! Release her! NOW!"

Activating his sharingan and throwing off his robes, Sasuke calmly hopped down into the tunnel after her. "I guess we are doing this the hard way then, little mouse."

"Last chance!" Sakura raged at the thin boy in her grasp. "Where is she?!"

Sabui just looked back at Sakura blankly, not struggling against her vice-like grip.

"Sakura. Sabui is too loyal to me." Sasuke said arrogantly, as he strode up to the pair. "You won't get anywhere questioning him."

Sakura tossed Sabui away like a rag doll, pivoting to throw a punch at Sasuke's head. "Sasuke, I won't let you keep Hinata!"

"You can't stop me." Sasuke dodged the punch easily. This time he moved as to not get caught by Sakura's delayed chakra punch. Sakura pivoted again to the right and kneed Sasuke in the side as he moved away from her first blow. He dodged again but the chakra blow connected. He was sent flying into the side of the tunnel, cracking the wall. Thanks to Tsunade, Kurenai, and Masuku's training, Sakura's fine chakra control had finally blossomed to her full potential. She was now able to target the chakra in the nervous system of others and manipulate the flow. His body slid to the ground paralyzed and caught by the binding genjutsu that Sakura placed during the blow.

But a second later, his body exploded, turning into a log. It was a substitution jutsu. She felt a tap from behind her on the shoulder. Sakura attempted to turn, but the cold metal of Sasuke's sword pressed down against her throat. Sakura opened the chakra points underneath his blade, creating a layer of chakra to prevent the steel from piercing into her skin. She moved back against him so their bodies were touching as he whispered into her ear, "Your rudimentary genjutsu won't work on me."

"Sasuke... come home to me..." Sakura's voice drifted away as she dissolved into a wavy mist from within Sasuke's grasp. He felt a tree branch wrap around him, restraining his sword arm to his side and binding his entire body to the trunk of a tree. Sakura appeared again. This time above him. Her body slowly slid out of the trunk of the tree as though she were a part of the wood. She pulled a kunai into her hand, pressing its blade to his throat and barely drawing blood. Now she brought her mouth to his ear. "Come back with me..."

Annoyed, Sasuke sighed. "Nice try."

Abruptly breaking through her genjutsu again, Sasuke appeared above Sakura and landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground. He pinned both her arms down, placing the sleeves between her arms and his hands, before leaning forward so that their noses almost touched but not quite. He scoffed arrogantly, almost rolling his eyes as if talking to a naive child. "You can't win this game. If you can't touch me, you can't produce another genjutsu. Didn't think I'd figure it out so quickly? I'm an Uchiha. So now what?"

"Now you're either going to have to kill me... or you'll give Hinata back and return with me to the village!" Sakura growled up at him just as fiercely. She concentrated chakra into both of her arms and broke Sasuke's hold. "I won't let you do this to yourself, Sasuke… I love you too much."

The pinwheel spinning, Sasuke's mangekyo activated in his eyes, and Sakura felt herself pulled into his illusion. She attempted to resist it, to stop the flow of chakra through her own nervous system, but his dojutsu was too strong… stronger than any genjutsu that she had ever encountered before. Soon she found herself bound to the wall of some sort of dark cave. The agonizing pain that coursed through her body as she realized her hands and arms were restrained and staked above her head. She felt extremely weak and near to passing out.

"Sasuke?" Her voice weakly echoed against the hollow walls. Like a ghost, he appeared out of thin air in front of her.

"I've asked you before not to get in my way, Sakura. When we were kids... the last time you tried to tell me about your so called love, I explained to you then what I was all about." Sasuke's eyes narrowed, he was angry now. "Don't push me any further. I don't want to have to hurt you anymore."

Sakura attempted struggle against her bindings, but the stakes only pushed further into her arms. The pain was beginning to consume her mind. "If you continue your vengeance... If you keep Hinata from Naruto... if you hurt Hinata…"

"I'm not going to hurt Hinata." Sasuke replied, backing away and getting a hold of his temper again. "That's counter productive."

"Then release her... you can take me instead." Sakura suggested. As Sasuke calmed, the stakes stopped digging further into her body.

"Why would I do that?" Sasuke scoffed at the idea. "You're useless to me. I need Hinata to draw out Naruto. She is the key to controlling him and that thing inside of him."

"Then like I said before, you will have to kill me first." Drawing upon her stubborn devotion to her tormentor, Sakura willed the cloud of pain back from her mind. This was not the real Sasuke. She had to get to the real Sasuke. Grunting, she struggled against the stakes trying get at the boy in front of her. She tried again to force her way out of the genjutsu.

Moving back towards Sakura, Sasuke placed his hand under her chin and looked into her eyes. She stopped struggling, his close proximity causing her resolve to weaken again. "Your death does nothing for me. You mean nothing to me. I wouldn't even waste my time."

Sakura's arm snaked around Sasuke's neck from behind as she finally released the hold of his genjutsu. She squeezed down against his throat, but seconds later, she felt herself flipped and slammed violently down onto the ground. Again they were in the tunnel.

Moaning and incredibly dizzy, Sakura opened her green eyes to find Sasuke looking down at her from above. His face was upside down as he stood above her. This time the anger was replaced by an oddly amused look in his cold black eyes. She tried to move her body but it felt unusually heavy. "You are stubborn, woman. You don't know when to give up, do you? I'm impressed. You may finally be worthy of my attention. But you still lose this fight… too bad, you've left me no choice but to kill you now."

Sakura closed her eyes tight, concentrating as much chakra as possible in her right arm. She slid her hand in her robes, gripping at a poisoned kunai and then, opening her eyes, she swung up directly towards his throat as she felt Sasuke's lightning cutter come down towards her chest. Abruptly, Sakura felt the rest of her body released from Sasuke's genjutsu. Kakashi appeared out of thin air, kicking Sasuke back and away from Sakura. Sasuke dodged his old sensei's blows, as Kakashi followed his student up the side of the bridge, before sending a kunai flying with a wire attached. The wire wrapped itself around Sasuke's body, appearing to capture him, but then his body exploded again in a puff of smoke, replaced by a log.

Sasuke appeared further away along the bridge. He sneered arrogantly. "Huh. Another leaf ninja, I don't care about. Where is Naruto?"

"Sasuke." Kakashi stood up to his full height. "This is between you and me. Leave Sakura and Naruto out of this."

Sasuke started to chuckle. Then he began to laugh wildly. "So like the girl, you want me to kill you too? You have no idea who you are dealing with anymore Kakashi Sensei! You have no idea how powerful I've become!"

Kakashi looked over at Sakura. "I'll handle this. Just take that injured girl over there and heal her... she has a lot of important intel. She needs to live."

"But... He has Hinata." Sakura protested.

"I know." Kakashi replied gravely.

"I need to do this..." Sakura began slipping the poison kunai out from within her cloak again.

"Killing Sasuke is a huge burden to bear. I'm the team leader... I'm supposed to be the one who bears this burden." Kakashi's mood changed abruptly and he became awkwardly jovial. "Besides, I'm hokage now, so I order you to heal that girl."

Sakura looked at Kakashi curiously after he revealed he was hokage, but she only nodded reluctantly in response. She picked up Karin and moved off away from the fight.

Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing his sharingan as they watched the two young women retreat. Then Sasuke came at him, before sliding to the right to toss four deadly shiruken at Sakura's back. The copy ninja produced a mud wall in front of Sakura and Karin's position, before dropping into a sweeping spin kick, causing Sasuke to shift from his intended path. The two ninja exchanged blows as Kakashi pushed Sasuke further back towards the side of the bridge. Releasing his genjutsu, Sasuke abruptly appeared above Kakashi, slamming his lightning cutter into the ground next to him and exploding rock and soil. Kakashi allowed himself to fall back off the side of the bridge following the wave of impact and gracefully landed on the water surface outside of the tunnel underneath.

"Huh! You think you can defeat me with that counterfeit sharingan." Sasuke followed him over the side and activated his mangekyo. Again this time, he created the Susanoo in its full form. "My sharingan is in a completely different league than yours."

The susanoo cocked its bow and arrow sending a large arrow flying at Kakashi. Kakashi knew he had to match Sasuke's mangekyo. He had not fully grasp the power of his own dojutsu, but he had deduced that it was very similar... maybe too similar to Madara's transportation jutsu. His jutsu swallowed the enormous and powerful arrow before it hit him.

"Impressive... I can't believe a ninja, who is not an Uchiha, has managed to activate the mangekyo." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. How was it possible that Kakashi had a matured sharingan and how long had Kakashi had that power? He should be blind by now, shouldn't he? "But it won't save you! You're going to die! All of you are going to pay for Itachi..."

Sasuke began to falter. Suddenly, he felt weak and fatigued. His body becoming heavy like he used too much chakra. He thought he must have used this power too many times and too close together. Now his Susanoo began to fade.

Kakashi saw Sasuke's falter, but he was distracted by something else. Sakura had appeared over the edge of the bridge again.

"Sakura! No!" Kakashi attempted to move but his legs felt like lead after using his own mangekyo just once.

Sakura swiftly lept down next to Sasuke, using the distraction of Sasuke's falter and slamming her fist into what remained of the Susanoo causing it to fully dissipate. She slid to his right side and tapped his arm with a knife hand, binding his body in a genjutsu again. The second that the paralysis illusion gave her was just enough time to swipe Sasuke's sword, before she fell back onto the surface of the water.

"YOU!" Sasuke's face was filled with wild anger as he ran towards Sakura while bearing his lightning spear. Sakura fell back again, just barely dodging a fatal blow by wildly swinging the sword in her hands. As he approached, Sasuke kicked the sword up and out of her hand, grabbing it by the hilt. He was on top of her in a flash. He recklessly slashed down at her throat, as she was knocked backwards, flipping another poisoned kunai from her sleeve. She concentrated chakra in her weaponed arm and hand, as she stabbed up at his chest with deadly precision to the spot where his heart lay. She left her neck exposed to take the brunt of Sasuke's next strike. But before the two blows could hit their mark, the ninja were thrown apart by an undeniable force.

Sakura's body skated like a skipped rock on the water surface, dropping the kunai from her exhausted hand. But she took the impact with a sort of relief. She had planned to die along with Sasuke... the both of them together. But now something... or someone had intervened again, letting them live.


	23. Reunion: Team Seven

Naruto stood on the water between Sasuke and Sakura. The anger in his eyes overtook his face. "Sakura! Are you ok?"

Sakura sat up on the water surface, collecting herself and retrieving her weapon. Softly, she replied, "I'm ok."

"Good." Now, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "What are you doing? Where is Hinata? And why would you attack Sakura?"

"Team seven…" Sasuke stood up from where he stopped himself from sliding and sheathed his sword. Not answering any of Naruto's questions, he continued, sarcastically. "All back together again."

"I'll ask again. Why would you attack a comrade?" Naruto demanded.

"I'm not a comrade anymore. Besides Sakura attacked me. I warned her… she didn't listen." Sasuke replied stoically. "All of you should know by now. You get in my way... you die."

"You needed to see for yourselves. But now you've seen. Naruto… Sakura… Sasuke's intent to kill is undeniable." Kakashi stated as he walked towards his students. He had only let out that last breath, as he saw Naruto appear, tossing Sasuke and Sakura apart. They would have both been dead if he had arrived a second later. "He is no longer the teammate that the two of you once knew."

Naruto ignored Kakashi and said to Sasuke. "I know now… I know the truth about Itachi. That Tobi Madara guy told us. Then again… maybe he was lying. I don't really know for sure, but it doesn't matter. I understand. I understand how you feel."

Sasuke frowned and growled, clinching his teeth together. "Like I said before, Naruto. You never had a family nor siblings in the first place, so you can't possibly know what it's like to lose your entire clan. I don't need your fake understanding. All of you outsiders can just go shove it."

"Are you kidding me?!" Frustrated and tears forming in her green eyes, Sakura stood up and moved to Naruto's side, placing herself slightly in front of her teammate in a subconsciously protective manner. "Naruto may still see you. But I don't recognize you anymore! You just kidnapped the one person, who _IS_ Naruto's family. And you have the nerve to say he doesn't know what it's like to lose family?! And after all of the horrible things that you've said and done to him, he still goes out of his way to understand you! Everyone else… including myself has given up on you, but he alone still believes that you can be saved and this is what you have to say…"

"Save me from what?" Sasuke interrupted arrogantly. He narrowed his eyes irritated that Sakura was choosing to protect Naruto. "I don't need saving. I'm supposed to be impressed that Naruto is slower to catch on than the rest of you? I'm exactly where I want to be, and I'm exactly who I was meant to be."

"That's not true!" Sakura yelled back. Her face turning red and now the tears streamed down her face. "You were meant to be OUR teammate, OUR friend… and the boy who I fell for!"

"You fell for a figment of your imagination." Sasuke retorted, rolling his eyes. Then he paused and inspected the kunoichi in front of him with a new malicious look to his eyes. "But then again, you've proven today that you might be more useful than I once thought. You say you love me. That you'll take Hinata's place. Prove your loyalty to me. Use that poisoned kunai and kill Naruto. Maybe then, I'll take you with me, Sakura."

Sakura frowned at him and clinched her teeth. "No! That is NOT how today is going to end. You are going to come with me… one way or another, Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Vengeance…" Naruto mumbled, stepping in-between Sasuke and Sakura again. "This vengeance and hate that you've carried around with you for years. It's a burden you can let go of now… You can come back home at any time. No matter what. You are still our friend."

"And why would I do that? Do you really think I'd let go of it now? Now that I've killed the main culprit behind Itachi's betrayal?" Sasuke's black eyes were wild again, filled with power and hate. "That's right. I took down a high ranking leaf elder right here. The one called Danzo is dead. Nothing but a bloody pulp lying in the middle of that bridge."

"Isn't this what you all have wanted? To rid the hidden leaf of the Uchiha clan?" Sasuke's voice was now becoming as wild as his eyes. "Your friendship is of no consequence. I'll severe all bonds with the hidden leaf by killing all of you and destroying the village. It will be the ultimate purification!"

Kakashi sighed. His shoulders drooped in defeat. He had done what he could to prevent this, but it had been inevitable from the beginning. The cycle of hate continued and Sasuke was its latest victim. It was unfathomable how Naruto, himself, had not been pulled into the all consuming darkness of this world, too. After all, despite Sasuke's pontification, their lives had not been dissimilar. His two students were like two sides of the same coin, both determinedly set on opposites paths.

Naruto produced two shadow clones and prepared himself to fight, but Kakashi activated his chidori in response to Sasuke's lightning cutter. "I said as team leader, I'll handle this. You two don't need to get yourselves killed."

"You'll need my kunai to make sure it's done." Sakura said, determinedly, pulling the laced weapon out of her cloak again.

"That poisoned kunai, that Lady Tsunade taught you, won't work against Sasuke, Sakura." Kakashi shook his head, no. "Orochimaru's experimenting has made Sasuke immune to most poisons. You'll get yourself killed for no reason."

"It will work if the strike is deep enough and accurate enough, Sensei." Sakura replied with certainty in her voice. "I took Orochimaru's knowledge of Lady Tsunade's recipe into account. I modified it and concentrated it… it's enough to at least paralyze his diaphragm. He can't live if he can't breath. He will kill me if I get close enough to stab him… but that was always the plan."

Before anyone could move, Naruto's two clones grabbed Kakashi in a headlock and scooped Sakura up off of her feet, as the original Naruto charged at Sasuke's incoming blow with his rasengan.

"NO! Naruto!"

As the powerful blows collided with each other, the two young ninja were knocked into a limbo set just beyond this world. They stood facing each other. Their chakra temporarily sealed together and connected to each other's minds and souls.

"I use to be so lonely… everyone in the village hated me -because of the nine tails. I spent most of my time trying to find ways to make those around me as miserable as possible… I wanted them feel like I did. But then, I met you… and Iruka sensei and Hinata. And all three of you saved me. As team seven, you, me, Sakura and Kakashi Sensei had each others' backs. You put your life on the line for me and I did the same for you. We knew no matter what, it was us against the world. So I'm going to make this easy. Whatever you want in exchange for Hinata, I'll do it."

"Even if I want your life?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes. "You only have two choices, Naruto. Either you kill me and save your girl… become the hero of the hidden leaf and immortalize me as the ultimate villain. Or be killed by me and know both Hinata and Konoha will suffer as a result."

"No. You have not completely turned away from us. Here... in this place. I can still see my old friend, there inside of you." Naruto stated. "There is still another way. I'm not going to kill you and you're not going to hurt Hinata or the hidden leaf. Neither one is going to happen!"

The explosion of the two chakra weapons tossed the shinobi apart sending the river into enormous rippling tidal waves.

Sasuke was thrown into the cliff wall but was caught by white Zetsu who suddenly appeared from the spore that unknowingly sat on Sasuke's body.

Zetsu caught Sasuke as he tumbled from the wall into the water. "You? Where did you come from?"

"I've been here the entire time. How do you think Madara knows where you are all of the time?" White Zetsu laughed giddily. "He wanted me to keep an eye on you. Make sure you did not get into any trouble… but it seems like you have gotten yourself in a pickle anyway."

Zetsu eyed the three leaf ninja who were only feet away. Then he looked at Sasuke, whose breaths were becoming more ragged and uneven by the second. His brow was slick with sweat. Each one of those three were powerful enough alone, but together and without time to recover, Sasuke would have no chance. "I think I better call him now."

Madara appeared then from his spiraling transportation jutsu. "What's going on Sasuke? I told you after that fight with Danzo, you needed to go home and rest. Why do you continue to defy me when all it gets you is more trouble?"

Sabui appeared from the shadows, as usual late to the fight. He pointed towards Sakura. "He was helping me retrieve my byakugan when that pink haired kunoichi showed up."

Madara looked over, spotting Naruto. "So… the nine tails did show up then."

He called, "Looking for your girl? Well don't bother with Sasuke. I have her."

"What?" Naruto yelled through clinched teeth. "What have you done with Hinata?"

"Don't worry." Madara waved his hand, bored. "She's safe… for now. But if you ever want to see her again, I suggest you come with us."

"Naruto won't be coming with you." Kakashi warned, moving into a fighting stance again.

Five more Zetsus appeared from the water like melting aquatic creatures. Strangely, Kakashi could not sense them even through his nose. It was as if they did not even exist.

"I'll stay and fight while you take Sasuke back. I'll be sure to capture the nine tails." White Zetsu said in a oddly cheerful voice. His bodies began to shift becoming identical versions of the three leaf ninja that stood before him.

"No Zetsu. You're too weak." Madara replied. "You're not a battle type, the nine tails is too tough for you. And with Sasuke out of commission and Sabui as useless as you… it's better we retreat and recoup. Besides I need you to go check on Kisame, he should have recovered the eight tails by now… Oh and rendezvous with your black half while you're at it."

"Yes. Yes, I understand."

"Naruto?" Madara called. "Do I have your decision?"

"Fine. I'll go with you." Naruto stepped up.

"What?" Kakashi grabbed Naruto's arm. "You can't go with them. They're using Hinata not just to get to you, but to get to the nine tails. We'll find another way but we can't risk the tailed beast. We'll be risking hundreds of thousands of lives if we do that."

Naruto looked over at Kakashi. "Don't worry. I can go with them without giving them Kurama. Just trust me."

* * *

Naruto collapsed into Sai's arms about a quarter of a mile from the bridge. Sakura's poisoned kunai had grazed him when he separated her and Sasuke, keeping them from killing each other. Sai sighed while he placed Naruto with Lee and Kiba as they too slept on the ground. "Just great. Another one down."

He knew it was a good idea to bring along the sealed clone, who Naruto had created as a decoy when he left the village to visit the Raikage. The plan was that the sealed clone would replace Naruto once he created his shadow clones as a distraction. Now he just hoped Sakura got back quickly enough with the antidote for the poison before the real Naruto actually did die.

Sakura appeared soon after with Kakashi and Karin, dosing Naruto before he passed out completely. "Are we sure this is a good idea? What happens when they find out that they don't actually have the nine tails?"

"It's easy to figure out that they have to release the tailed beasts in order. Which is why they waited until now to capture the eight and nine tailed beasts. So if they have to capture the eight tails first before they can release the nine tails into the statue, we have some time before they figure out the Naruto, who they have, is not real." Kakashi replied. "It's actually a solid plan. Even a sensory ninja won't be able to tell Naruto's sealed clone from the real Naruto until they try to release the nine tails. It will buy us enough time."

Sakura nodded, patting Naruto on the head. "He'll be alright."

"Now can you wake the others." Kakashi asked, eyeing the sleeping ninja on the ground and shifting Karin onto his back. "I'm not carrying them back to the village too."

* * *

Naruto allowed Sabui to restrain his arms behind his back and his legs together, before Madara picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. With the exception of Zetsu, he transported all of them to a dark underground cavern before pushing Naruto into a cell and locking the door.

Naruto pressed his face against the bars of a small window in the prison door and stared into Madara's mask. "Where is Hinata?"

"Don't worry. You'll see her soon enough." Madara replied. "However... we must make sure everything is ready and you cannot betray us, before we make the trade."

Madara closed the door to the small peek hole and Naruto was left alone in the dark prison cell. He sat down cross legged and began to meditate.

'Kid. Do you have a plan for getting the byakugan princess back?' Kurama's voice surfaced in Naruto's mind. 'By the way, how long before your friends figure out that they have the sealed clone instead of the original you, and come after you?'

"They won't be able to tell the difference anymore than Madara and Sasuke could." Naruto replied under his breath.

'Madara and Sasuke didn't use a byakugan -nor do they know you can make sealed clones. There are a number of ninja in your village who do, however.' Kurama replied. 'If anyone thinks to look, they will easily be able to tell the sealed clone is not you.'

"I can't worry about that." Naruto closed his eyes again and started to block Kurama out. "Right now that is the least of my problems. I need to figure out where Hinata is... quickly."

'I have a pretty good idea.' Kurama replied. 'And even in Sage mode, you won't be able to sense her.'

Naruto stopped his meditation. "Ok?"

'I've encountered the older Uchiha before in the past. Twice. The first time was when Madara came to my woods to place a genjutsu on me, sending me to attack the hidden leaf village. That was the first time in the centuries, that a human was able to drive me from my woods.'

Naruto found himself standing outside of Kurama's open cage again. The tailed beast's fiery eyes glowed from beyond the open cell door. Kurama growled angrily as his eyes flared in rage like stoked flames. "The second time was sixteen years ago. He was the one who released me from your mother's seal. The seal was weakened during your birth, and she refused to be bound to a Hyuga even for that short period of time. Madara took the opportunity to possess me again, and to send me after the hidden leaf village again. His powers were different the second time however… his genjutsu was not quite as strong. He seemed younger and less experienced as opposed to older and wiser. So I was partially aware of my actions… But it did not matter, I've hated your village for decades, ever since the first hokage and his wife imprisoned me there against my will. So it did not take much persuading. Your father, Minato, fought this new Madara, but he called him by another name. I believe it was Obito. He seemed to know him well… almost like they had had a close relationship at some point. And the second Madara used a new power, a transportation jutsu. He had to use it on me since his genjutsu was not as powerful as before. It transported me through time and space by entering another dimension. The dimension seems to be connected to Madara and is completely owned by him. If Hinata is trapped in that other dimension, it would explain why the binding seal is severed.'

Naruto thought for a second. That sounded rational. But lately, Kurama had been suspiciously compliant, particularly when the binding seal basically no longer existed. He was no longer under the influence of Hinata's will. Yet uncharacteristically, the Tailed Demon Fox seemed to be cooperating… he even seemed to be lending some help. Not certain what Kurama's angle was but hoping this was a possible opening, Naruto whispered, "Once we get Hinata back… if you help me get Hinata back, I'll find a way to release you. So you can return to your woods… if that is what you want."

Kurama paused as though considering Naruto's request. Then the fox laughed, showing his sharp teeth. "A jinchuuriki releasing their tailed beast? That is unheard of. The only jinchuuriki, who ever survived for any extended period of time after being separated from their bijuu was your mother... But she also never needed to use binding seals to suppress me, either. You would likely die."

"I'm willing to take that chance." Naruto replied, quietly. "If you promise to help me get Hinata back and then peacefully return to your woods afterwards, I WILL release you. And I always keep my word, no matter what."

Kurama asked suspiciously. "How do you know I'll keep my word? How do you know I won't turn on the leaf village as soon as I have my freedom?"

"You willingly released me the last time that you took over. You could have possessed me completely, but you stopped because Hinata said she loved me. Hinata also loves her village and her clan." Naruto replied. "I think you will honor the deal for her. Besides, I'm really starting to understand you. The fact that you care for Hinata means you are more than just the hateful creature that you pretend to be. I think the only thing that you have ever wanted was to be left alone and in peace in the first place. You said you lived in your woods for centuries before Madara came and captured you. For everything that we, humans, have put you through, you deserve that again… peace. I want to give it to you… even if it costs my life, ya know."

Kurama felt himself being persuaded. It had been a thousand years since he felt himself persuaded by actual words without the use of tricks or jutsus. But ever since that day on the battlefield when he uncovered Naruto's true identity, he had been watching his jinchuuriki closely. He had been slowly sorting through the memories that he was able to siphon off of his jinchuuriki and the Hyuga, who he was currently bound to. Now, Kurama finally decided that he had been right to change his mind about this kid. He narrowed his eyes. "You are a lot like your mother, Naruto. She was never willing to release me, but her goal was always to keep me safe from the use of other humans, as opposed to possessing me as a weapon. I see why the girl loves you."

The tailed beast moved slowly from inside Minato's seal, shoving his body through the opening and out into the chamber where Naruto stood. He stretched his body to full length peering down at the small teenage boy who stood before him. "Ok kid. For now, you have a deal. But you're right, we need to move quickly. Madara wants the entire tailed beast to feed to that statue... but he doesn't need it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... he already has the eight tails's tentacle. Which means he already has a bit of the eight tails chakra. I've been around for a long time, kid... not necessarily in this form. I've never seen the reason to share my knowledge with any of you humans before, but since we are now... aligned... I will tell you, the reason why the eight tails and I had to be gathered last is because our chakra is the most massive and the strongest. He doesn't need our entire being like he does the others. My entire being is not even sealed inside of you." Kurama sighed what sounded more like a growl. "And I hate to also tell you this, kid, but Madara wasn't the first to come to my woods looking for me. He was the only one to capture me, but other shinobi have been able to siphon off portions of my chakra. Who knows where else Madara could find a piece of me. And if he does... he no longer needs to keep Hinata alive."

* * *

Shizune brought a small cup of water to Lady Tsunade's lips. "We are so glad to see you awake, Mi'lady."

Tsunade nodded and sat forward to drink a bit of the water. "Naruto? He defeated Pain, then?"

"Yes, Mi'lady." Shizune smiled.

"Where is he now?"

"He is here in the village. He and Kakashi and Sakura, Sai, Kiba and Lee just came back from a mission."

Tsunade leaned back and closed her eyes, tired just from speaking. "Kakashi... can you bring him here."

Shizune stood back up and moved to get a cool cloth for the hokage's forehead. "I just heard he left again. Now that you are awake, he is no longer needed as hokage."

"And Danzo was going to let that happen? Kakashi as hokage." Tsunade chuckled to herself, weakly. Convincing the copy ninja to take the position must have been a very interesting conversation.

"Danzo is dead. Sasuke killed him." Shizune replied.

Sakura entered the tent then, rushing to her mistresses side, tears in her eyes. "I heard... I heard you were awake."

"Sakura." Tsunade smiled at her student "Where is Naruto? Is he just behind you?"

"He's recovering..." Sakura replied quietly. "It's a long story. But Sasuke kidnapped Hinata... and Kakashi, Naruto, and I went after him. Naruto was accidentally cut with my poison kunai."

"And Hinata?"

"She's still... gone." Sakura looked down at her hands. "Naruto's sealed clone went with Madara and Sasuke in order to get her back."

Tsunade frowned and shook her head. Sitting up abruptly, she grabbed at Shizune urgently. "There is no way Naruto would let a clone go in his place. You need to have a hyuga check the Naruto who is here. Now!"

* * *

Itachi sat cross legged in front of a weather worn statue covered in moss. This broken temple, which sat in the southern most tip of the Land of Fire, housed the only supposed image of the Sage of Six Paths in the world. These were the woods that were once protected by Kurama and most humans still avoided them as a result. Uchihas, however, were known to enter these woods from time to time. And Itachi came here after he tracked Masuku's tracker to Madara's hide out. If she was now under the elder Uchiha's control, along with the altered Hyuga, Madara was close to completeing whatever terrible scheme that he had planned for Sasuke. So after years of cleansing himself from the violence of that bloody night, he prepared himself for a fight. He still hoped it would not come to that. His eyesight was now completely gone. The path that lay in front of him was difficult though not impossible. But the bit of salvation that he had managed to obtain over the last seven years, would certainly end with whoever he had to destroy to save his brother.

As he sat in meditation, he sensed the presence of someone nearby, watching him. After his vision started to leave, his other four senses began to become stronger. He would no longer be as proficient as he was when he had the use of his vision, but he was always able to use genjutsu without visual contact. He had also managed to recover the old sword that he buried when he joined the Akatsuki. It felt like a heavy burden strapped to his back again.

The hidden ninja activated a sharp blaring chakra weapon as he neared Itachi's spot. It had the distinct sound of bird's chirping. The chidori. A voice drifted to him, "so I was right. You are still alive then?"

The pale faced young man, with long and shaggy black hair tied back in a ponytail, stared forward in his blindness only tilting his head slightly towards the voice. "Yes Kakashi. I am still very much alive. Have you come here to kill me?"

"That depends." Kakashi replied, warily. "On whether you are preparing to help Madara with his plot, or if you are preparing to stop him."

"Would you believe me if I told you that I'm preparing to stop him?"

Kakashi frowned. He had heard some version of this answer before.

Itachi pointed a finger in the direction of Kakashi's voice, to the spot where the copy ninja stood hidden within the shadows.

A flock of crows suddenly descended from the open roof of the temple, sweeping Kakashi up and carrying him into a sort of limbo within Itachi's mind scape.

"I can truly see you here." Itachi said, appearing as a blur of crow and man. "And you can truly see me."

The younger ninja looked into Kakashi's eyes and said firmly, "I do not want to fight you, nor any other ninja from the hidden leaf village."

"So then it's true what Madara said? You have been working at the behest of the elders council this entire time… even when you massacred your clan and joined the Akatsuki." Kakashi stated this as opposed to asking. In this strange place, he could sense that Itachi was telling the truth.

"You've figured out the mystery then. Kakashi Hatake, you do live up to your reputation. Yes. I've done everything to make sure that Sasuke was allowed to live."

"But I haven't figured it all out, yet." Kakashi replied turning to face Itachi. "Your subordinate, Masuku, who is she, exactly?"

"She is the girl who you rescued from the woods sixteen years ago right after the nine tails escaped Kushina and attacked the village." Itachi replied. "You wouldn't recognize who she is because you've never seen her true face… not even then."

Kakashi frowned. He remembered that girl vaguely. She had bright red hair like almost every other Uzumaki, but she was only four… at best five years old. He spoke out loud but as though to himself. "How is it possible that a child that young was able to modify their face?"

"It's now common knowledge among the ANBU black ops that Konoha sanctioned several unsavory projects while under Lord Third and Danzo. The first being the replication project of Lord First's DNA that eventually created Tenzo. The second was an attempt to replicate a perfect jinchuuriki for the nine tails. Kushina, Naruto's mother, was thought to have the potential of becoming a perfect jinchuuriki for Kurama. The very first. She had a very rare chakra, which like the Senju Clan's wood style and the Kaguya clan's ash bone appeared to be a variant mutation only showing in one in a billion… if even that. Some even said all of these physical manifestations came from a being who was even older than the Sage of the Sixth paths. The being that gave birth to Hagaromo and Hamura Otsutsuki. Kushina's chakra could bind the tailed beast and create seals so impenetrable that she never needed to use a foreign seal nor to be bound to a Hyuga to control the Tailed Demon Fox... not even as a child. Even Mito Uzumaki used binding seals to help control and suppress the nine tails. The theory was if Kushina was ever sealed to a Hyuga, she would finally be able to access the nine tails' full power. But Kushina's only goal was to suppress the nine tails. She refused to attempt to access that power. And despite the elders council's hunger for it, neither Lord Third nor her husband, Lord Fourth, were going to force her."

Itachi understood Kushina's mindset. He, himself, was once pushed towards immense power, which he was hesitant to access. He saw clearly that too often power and peace were at odds with one another, so he learned to chose one over the other. So despite usually being the best at everything, he often held back, while designing limitations that he knew did not exist. This is why he felt so comfortable in his blindness. Lack of sight was finally a limitation that he did not have to impose on himself.

"The official statement was that Konoha wanted to be able to create another jinchuuriki like her… to take her place after she passed. So they started by injecting other Uzumakis with her DNA in order to replicate her powers. But like those injected with Lord First's DNA, all of the candidates died horrible deaths. And that experiment was stopped quickly. After that, an attempt to create a genetic clone of Kushina was made. But all of the infants died after only a few weeks of life. Lord Third put a stop to all of the projects after that. But as you know, Orochimaru did not stop."

Kakashi frowned. "So you are saying Masuku is Kushina's clone?"

Itachi shifted slightly. "Sort of… Orochimaru eventually found a way to keep one infant alive. By injecting her with another's DNA. It gives her the power to transform in a way no normal human can."

Kakashi thought about those white things that had called themselves, Zetsu. They had been completely undetectable to his nose just like Masuku and they shifted just like her. "The Zetsu."

"After you left her with Lord Third, she did reveal her true face to him eventually. That is how he figured out who she was. He knew her existence could potentially prove dangerous if she fell into the wrong hands, but he could not bring himself to destroy an innocent child. So he sent her to Danzo to place false memories in her and to give her a new identity. Danzo, however, had been working with Orochimaru all along, and so he wanted the ability to be able to control the genetic clone at his convenience. So before he gave her back to Lord Third, he taught her to create a sealed clone. He placed programming in the sealed clone, and named him, Kabuto. Then Danzo trained him in the foundation before sending him to work under Orochimaru. He knew eventually he would help Orochimaru betray his old sensei and Konoha, and then Masuku would have to kill and reabsorb her sealed clone. Danzo figured Orochimaru would kill Lord Third in the process of the betrayal, and then he, Danzo, would be chosen hokage with the most powerful jinchuuriki in existence by his side. What he did not figure was that Lord Third never trusted Danzo completely. He also did not believe that Danzo was working on his own… some other much darker force was manipulating both Danzo and Orochimaru. And it was that unknown force that had kidnapped Masuku and the Hyuga boy all those years ago along with releasing the nine tails to attack the village."

"Madara." Kakashi sighed. How long had all of this been going on right under their noses?

"As a result, Lord Third assigned Masuku to me, not long after she graduated from the academy under the name Suki Harami. I was the only one who was skilled enough to control what memories she could retrieve."

"Genjutsu." Kakashi stated.

Itachi nodded. "When I left konoha as a rogue, my assignment was not only to investigate the Akatsuki but to also keep an eye on Masuku. I kept a tracker on her and would use genjutsu to prevent the original memories and the programming from taking over. I trained Masuku in chakra manipulation to make sure I was always the only one with enough skill and power to put her under a genjutsu. Unfortunately, there are two with the ability to bypass this... Danzo with Shisui's stolen eye and Madara."

"Danzo is dead." Kakashi stated. "He used the eye at the summit and got caught by a mist ninja with a stolen byakugan."

"The limitation to its use is the amount of time it takes to use it again." Itachi replied. "Which is why I gave my eyes to Sasuke."

Kakashi frowned again.

"During his time as his student, Orochimaru enhanced Sasuke's abilities... by using curse marks and injecting him with Hashirama's cells like he did to Tenzo. With his prior experimenting, he figured out how to stabalize Hashirama's cells enough to keep the transplant from killing the subject. It only seems to be permanent in a subject with enough Senju blood and the right elemental natures, however. I gave him my eyes knowing he would have enough power to cast the genjutsu in my place. I thought I would be dead by now… And I was hoping that after my death, Sasuke would forget about vengeance and take up my will. I was hoping he would stop the man in the mask and he would become the hero. Unfortunately, the man in the mask knew certain details that I did not know that he knew. But I created a fail safe -just in case Sasuke did not make the right decision when the time came about. I gave Naruto some of my power too. If Sasuke chose to come after Konoha... and to use my eyes to possess the nine tails in order to do so, the power that I gave to Naruto would trigger Shisui's other sharingan to stop Sasuke. I gave it to the one person who would accept Sasuke back no matter what if he decided to change sides again."

"Ok. So how are you alive then?" Kakashi asked, suspiciously.

"Apparently, Masuku saved me before the old memories and Danzo's programming took over her mind." Itachi paused. His eyes looked solemn. "And it appears that while I was still weak and recovering, she fell into a sort of madness. I've been trying to find her… but my sight... it's gone. And it seems the man in the mask has gotten to her first. The tracker is removed."

"So this man in the mask? What does he want with Sasuke, Masuku, and the altered Hyuga? To create this infinite tsukuyomi that he spoke of at the summit?"

"He did not share everything with me." Itachi replied. "As far as I can figure they are a part of the ingredients… descendants of Hagaromo and Hamura… along with the nine tailed beasts and that statue that he feeds them to. He also has been using Hashiromo's DNA. But how all that ties together...I don't know."

"And so, he really is Madara Uchiha then?"

"I'm not sure anymore. He's definitely some manifestation of him." Itachi stated. He released Kakashi from the genjutsu. Before continuing in a grave voice. "The host body that Madara took… I believe you knew him well. His name was once, Obito Uchiha."

* * *

Hinata rested her chin on her knees and stared at the tray of food in front of her. The man in the mask had sent white zetsu with food and water several times. The creature was friendly but very unhelpful. All of his answers to her questions were teasingly vague and condescending. After the third time he arrived, Hinata only politely took the food and did not bother to ask anymore questions.

Since nothing changed in the man in the mask's world to indicate the passage of time, Hinata guessed it had been two days by the number of meals. She had only eaten bits of the food on the fourth tray that arrived, after her stomach began to rage with hunger. Too late, she quickly found out the food was drugged. When she woke up again, her cloak and clothes were gone and she was wearing some sort of strange shift.

After Zetsu brought the last tray, she stared at it with dread in her stomach. She could tell they had done something to her, but there were no marks on her body and she felt perfectly fine. So she was not sure what had happened while she was unconscious. This time she did not dare touch the food or the water, though her mouth was parched and her stomach was starting to complain again.

She stood up and activated her byakugan, inspecting the uneven terrain of this place. The horizon was unchanging and the sky almost matched the color of the ground. The temperature was neither warm nor cold, which was good since the shift was thin and provided little to no insulation.

As she moved further in a randomly chosen direction, she spotted a chakra form not far away. She called out, "hey!", running now, up and down towards the foreign shape as the multileveled ground shifted.

When she finally came upon the vision, she realized the shape was a man. He wore a cloak over his head and kneeled on two knees with his right hand raised as though praying. She moved around to face him. "Hello?"

The man did not move. She could just barely make out a face underneath the hood. Over the right side, his face was terribly scarred and was discolored a sickly pale white complexion compared to the rest of his lightly tanned skin.

"Hello... I'm Hinata Hyuga. May I ask who you are, sir?"

When the man did not respond, move an inch, or even flinch as she spoke, Hinata stepped forward, pushing the hood of the cloak off of the man's head. The man's short spiky black hair was revealed. It reminded her of Naruto's hair, wild and animated though the man was completely still. As the atmosphere touched his previously covered skin, the man woke up abruptly. His black eyes stared up into Hinata's face, but he did not focus on her. He saw something beyond her. Tears formed in his eyes as he grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her towards him, throwing his arms around her waist in a tight embrace. Sobbing the man lay his head on her abdomen and said, "Rin... Rin, you've finally come back to me."


	24. The Tales of Obito & Madara

**All characters are or are based on characters owned and created by Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing.**

 **Completely a flashback chapter, which is supplemental to the story. warning: there is a not so nice** **death at the end of Obito's part.**

* * *

 **Obito**

Running his hand through his spiky black hair, Obito looked up at the three enormous faces carved into the side of the mountain. He growled and clinched his fists angrily. _He thinks he's so smart! Always showing off. Being such an obnoxious know-it-all. He thinks he is the best at everything. That Kakashi Hatake is a real jerk!_

He jumped at the touch of a soft palm covering his fist. Turning in surprise, he almost slid off the end of the bench as he came face to face with his new teammate, Rin Nohara. "He..hi!"

Rin smiled at him warmly. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok, Obito. Don't let Kakashi's teasing bother you, huh?"

"Ohh... I'm..." Obito paused getting caught up in the kindness and concern in the girl's large brown eyes. Rin was so nice and pretty. He just did not understand why a jerk like Kakashi had a girl like her defending him all of the time. He looked away and scowled. "It's just Kakashi is wrong."

"Kakashi is not like you and me." Rin replied, softly, squeezing Obito's hand. "Ever since his dad... well he's been so lost. Sometimes he just doesn't know the right things to say to his friends."

"That's because he doesn't have any friends." Obito grumbled under his breath. Then he turned back and said, "but Kakashi IS wrong. There is no law that says an Uchiha can't become hokage."

Obito said this as if he was trying to convince himself as opposed to Rin. Then he added weakly, "right?"

"I'm not sure." Rin replied honestly. "But even if there is... I'm certain if anyone can change it, it's you Obito."

"Really?" Obito squeaked in shock. Then collecting himself, he cleared his throat and lowered his voice until it was a bit too low. "I mean, of course I can... I will change it."

He smiled at the girl, brightly. Now that someone like Rin believed in him, he was certain he could do it. He could be hokage one day. She was pretty much the only one who believed he could be hokage. Rin and maybe his grandmother. Even among his clan, he was not exactly considered a stand out. In fact, if he was honest, so far his skill set had peaked at barely average. But he was certain once he activated his sharingan that would all change. Shoving his thumb into his chest, Obito's smile widened, "Obito Uchiha, future hokage!"

Rin giggled and gave him two thumbs up.

Two years later…

Half crushed and near death, Obito stared blindly into the darkness of the rock grave that surrounded him. His right eye was now completely destroyed by the avalanche, and his left eye was gone. It was now transplanted into Kakashi.

'I'm going to die now.' Obito thought, resigning himself to the fate. 'Kakashi take care of Rin...'

Suddenly he felt something slithering over his body, encasing him, pulling him from the darkness.

A light and whimsical voice came to him, "Not yet. You still have a second life to live Obito Uchiha."

Obito passed out from the excruciating pain as his body was drug out from under the layer of rocks.

Four Months later...

Obito woke up to find himself in a dimly lit cavern. The ceiling was made of a complicated network of tree roots. He could not move. He could barely expand his lungs to take a breath. His entire body was encased in something that restrained him to complete stillness. But finally, he could open his eyes. And now, he could see out of both eyes. What was happening to him?

A face appeared above him. At least, Obito though it was a face... there was only one eye and it was just a hole. There was no actual eye inside it. The face was white and in a complete spiraling pattern. There was no mouth nor a nose. The creature did have a voice. It was that same whimsical voice, which had pulled Obito back from death. "You're awake! Yay!"

Obito wanted to ask, "who are you?" He opened his mouth, but only a raspy grunt came out.

"We are Tobi and Zetsu. And we were sent by a friend to help you." The strange man spoke in purals even though he was the only one present. "You are very special, Obito. We have been watching you for a very long time… Well, at least since you got that talented eye of yours."

The strange man put his long white finger too close to Obito's right eye. He sighed. "Soon you will meet him... the one who has been waiting for you. But for now you need to get stronger. There has been a special set of items built from us. From our very special DNA. One day, he will need you to recover the parts and put them in order. But to do so you will need to be strong enough to defeat the leaf and their soon to be new hokage, Minato Namakazi… I believe you know him well, The Yellow Flash? Hum?"

Obito just stared back at the creature, not able to do anything else.

"Oh that's right... you can't speak." Tobi laughed gleefully. "Oh well. Rest now, young Obito. You have much more recovering to do."

Three Months later...

Obito was finally released from his bondages and allowed to sit up. The entire right half of his body had been reconstructed in the time that he spent in this underground cavern. This was the first time that he had enough freedom to actually sit up and look around.

The two creatures, who had brought him back from near death, were presently gone. Zetsu, who was half a blob and half an actual man, was the gentler of Obito's caretakers. Though he often playfully teased Obito, he genuinely seemed concerned about his patient's well being and would sometimes sit by Obito's bedside for hours, giving him news about the outside world. White Zetsu said he had eyes and ears everywhere, so Obito was kept abreast of everything, even of his old teammates back in Konohagakure. Sometimes but rarely, White Zetsu would appear in a complete form with his right half coated by the black right half of a man. Then Zetsu would appear much more serious and distant, sometimes ignoring Obito all together. On the other hand, Tobi, or as Obito had begun to call him, Guruguru, was a jokester. He was sarcastic to the point of condescendingly mocking Obito at times. Obito tried not to let it hurt his feelings too much. And in some ways, Obito actually liked Guruguru better than Zetsu. Guruguru's constant needling reminded Obito of his old friend, Kakashi.

"Obito, come here…" There was a new voice coming from the shadows. A deeper and less friendly voice. Obito had heard this voice before, but it was like a distant memory sitting on the periphery of his mind.

The teenager moved to the edge of the bed, squinting into the darkness. There was an outline of a form which appeared to be human and completely inhuman all at once.

Hoisting himself up from the bed, Obito propped himself on his unsteady feet and dragged himself over towards the form. It was a man. He had long black hair with streaks of gray. His body or what was left of it appeared to be growing out the wall of this cavern that had been Obito's home for so long. The roots that made up the cavern walls were as much a part of the man as his head and his one arm. His face was ravished and almost unrecognizable as a human face. The only feature that was distinguishable as part of a man were his eye sockets. Two empty black sunken holes in the midst of a horror.

"Obito… can you hear me? Can you see me?" The voice asked him. It appeared to be coming from the deformed man. But it was not actually coming from his mouth, but from somewhere inside of him.

Obito opened his own mouth, and used his weakened voice to answer. It came out hoarse, scratchy, and barely audible at first, and then it grew a bit stronger. "I hear you. Are you this… thing?"

"You see my terrible plight." The voice moaned. "What I have had to sacrifice for this hateful world…"

"What happened to you?" Obito frowned, gaining the confidence to move just a bit closer to the thing that spoke to him.

"The rinnegan." The voice moaned. "I have learned it is the key to saving this world from itself. You know better than anyone that this world needs saving. You have lived through war. You have been its victim. Because of me, you were barely spared from death at its hand. I chose you… from the many Uchiha who could have taken my place. I chose you, Obito."

The voice sounded urgent now, maybe even angry. "And I saved you for a reason!"

"Who are you?" Obito backed away again. He did not like the tone that the voice was suddenly taking. It felt as though at any moment that creature would reach out and possess him.

"Madara Uchiha." The voice returned in a calmer tone. "Have you ever heard of that name?"

Obito whispered, "Madara."

He was an Uchiha, so of course he had heard that name before. It was a name that was often mentioned in whispers followed by guilty looks from the adults of his clan. No one spoke openly about the old leader, but everyone knew he had once tried to tilt the balance of power from the Senju leadership towards the Uchiha clan. After the day that Kakashi spilled the beans about the unspoken rule which would have prevented Obito from ever realizing his dream, Obito learned Madara was the reason why there would never be an Uchiha Hokage.

"Yes. I know the name." Obito replied quietly.

"So they still speak of me then." The voice replied, satisfied.

"What happened to you? Everyone thinks you are dead."

"I am dead." The voice replied. "I died a few years ago after I used my own body to bring about the rinnegan."

Obito knew the rinnegan was a rare dojutsu which had not been seen for thousands of years. There were rumors about a way to activate the rinnegan from a sharingan. But these stories were regarded as myths and were nothing anyone bothered to replicate. "That's how you ended up like this?"

"Yes." The voice moaned. "I am a sage. And my death, as you can see, was nothing but poor and pathetic. It was my fate to not receive a sage's rebirth or to cross over into the Pure Land, but to be reborn on mortal earth… unfortunately, the truth about an unworthy death is not quite as glamorous as the myth. I died and my consciousness was reborn in this same deformed and decaying body. This is my hell. I am forever chained to this terrible existence. My zetsus have kept this body intact as much as they are capable. That is why I need you."

Obito stepped back again. "You need me?"

"Yes." The voice hissed. "We can share your new body. The way a jinchuuriki shares their body with a tailed beast. After returning from limbo all that is left of the true me is just a large mass of formless chakra. Allow me to be sealed inside of you. An extension of my will can preform the jutsu for us. Then I will share my power with you. Together we can save this world and you can realize your dream of becoming hokage."

Obito took another step back. He shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

The voice came at him with the harsh and angry tone again. "I saved you for a reason! You owe me, Obito Uchiha."

Obito turned to run, but the voice cried, "Wait! I have something that you desperately want."

A portion of the wall of roots opened like curtains to reveal a small compartment inside. Another voice cried out from inside the darkness. "Help me…"

Not really understanding, Obito stopped and turned back. That voice was very familiar, and it pulled at his heart strings. "Rin?"

Madara's voice spoke again in his calm and soothing tone. "Did you think your life came without a price attached? But this state that I'm suggesting… it would only be temporary. If you cooperate, in the end you will have your body back and everything that you want, Obito. Including your girl."

"Why do you have Rin?" Obito demanded, ignoring Madara's promises.

"I thought you may need an incentive." The voice replied cryptically. "So I had White Zetsu lure her here."

Obito moved to walk towards the compartment where Rin was held, but the wall of tree roots slammed shut.

"She is dying." Madara stated, harshly. "After I faked my first death, I implanted Hashirama's cells in my wounds in order to mature my sharingan into the rinnegan… his overwhelming power is the reason my body is in this state. I was just barely able to keep my physical form stable by merging with this tree. And poor Rin is nothing compared to me. While it took years for me to become this, she will end up like this in hours… and her death will be much worse. But… there is a way to suppress the process, Obito.

Not long ago, an infant lived after being injected with Hashirama's DNA. He is the only one to have ever lived through the process, and recently he has shown that he is able to manifest some of the hokage's power. I could help Rin. It would not take much… since she was only injected with a small amount of Hashirama's DNA. It's up to you, Obito. What are you willing to do?"

Five days later...

Rin woke up in Obito's arms. His face peered down at her with concern. Every night, he brought her up out of the cavern underneath the roots of Madara's tree and into the night's fresh air, waiting for her to wake up. When she did finally open her eyes, she sat up and grabbed him, pulling him to her so tightly that he began to choke.

"Obito! It wasn't a dream! You are alive!" She laughed happily.

Obito relaxed into Rin's embrace. He rested his head on her shoulder, enjoying his close proximity to her. His wild black hair was now longer and to his shoulders. He wore it in his face to hide the terrible scars over the right side of his face. Miserably, he answered, "Yes. I'm alive."

He did not know how long that would last. Ever since Madara's chakra had been sealed inside of him, he had been losing longer and longer periods of time. First it was just a few minutes, where he had no memory of anything that he had done. For the last couple of days, it had turned into hours. He had a feeling eventually Madara would permanently take over.

But losing his own life was worth saving Rin's life. He was supposed to be dead anyway. Soon after Madara promised to help her, she began to turn into something horrible, right before his very eyes. The zetsus finally gave her the injections that Madara promised, after Obito agreed to the sealing. White Zetsu's mysterious black half sealed Madara's chakra inside of Obito with a kinjutsu called a sage's unworthy death: chakra release and seal. Now she was back to the beautiful girl that Obito remembered. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Just this one single moment was worth everything.

Rin pulled back from the embrace and placed her hand over the scarred portion of his face. Now she looked at him with concern. "Why did you stay away for so long?"

"I almost died." Obito explained. "Some… people helped me… the same ones who helped you. I've only just recovered."

"So you're coming back with me now?" Rin asked, hopefully. "Everyone will be so happy to see you… Minato sensei and Kakashi and your grandmother… Minato Sensei is going to be the new Hokage soon."

"I can't go back." Obito interrupted. He did not know how long he could keep Madara at bay, but he knew once the elder Uchiha took over, he would be dangerous to the village.

Rin frowned, looking disappointed. "Why not?"

"It's a long story." Obito sighed. "But it's better if I stay away."

"Then I'll stay with you." Rin said determinedly. She took Obito's hand and squeezed. "We can go somewhere else… together."

"No." Obito shook his head. "Minato and Kakashi will be looking for you. They cannot be drawn to this place. We'll spend tonight together and in the morning, you should go back. I have to get far away… alone."

"But, I don't want to leave you again…" Rin protested.

Suddenly, Obito leaned forward and kissed her. He did not know what possessed him to do this. He half expected her to draw back in disgust. But Rin did not flinch. She shifted forward slightly, applying just a bit of pressure in return as their lips touched.

As they broke away from the kiss, Obito frowned and asked, "Kakashi?"

He had always thought she was in love with his best friend and teammate. All those years ago, she appeared to chose Kakashi over him, so he had entrusted his sharingan and her safety to his comrade. But now, Rin only smiled and said with certainty, "You."

Obito looked down at his hands now. He did not want to be selfish. She needed to go back.

Rin asked, again. "so you will take me with you, then?"

Obito nodded quietly, placing his cloak around her shoulders as she leaned into his chest. They were up near the top of Madara's tree, in the branches under the starlight. He rest his chin against her head taking in the scent of her hair. He never realized just how much he had truly missed her.

'Obito!' A voice called to him from deep inside of himself.

Obito found himself pulled into a strange world. The ground was uneven and made up of odd cube like shapes. The sky was almost the same dull gray blue color as the ground and there was no sun. "Where am I?"

"Your mindscape is strong and well defined." A man stood in front of him. Long black hair grew like a lion's mane around his sharp pale face. He knew instantly that this was Madara. The true Madara before his body became so deformed. He narrowed his black eyes. "Your own personal alternate dimension."

Madara continued, "Obito, I have been merciful. I've given you some time with your girl. Now we must get things done. I have to take possession now."

Obito frowned. "That was not the deal."

Madara laughed cruelly. "Did you really expect me to tell you the truth? I'm stealing your body and the jutsu only works on a willing host. I'm sorry, but I had to trick you. Your Rin cannot live. She knows too much."

"What?" Obito demanded. He struggled to take back over from Madara, but the elder Uchiha was too strong.

"It's useless to fight it. This is my body now." Madara stated, walking up to Obito grasping him around the throat with his right hand and choking him. "I chose you because you were strong enough to survive becoming my host, but you're not strong enough to resist me. You can't win."

For a second, Obito resurfaced, finding his way back to Rin. He opened his eyes and pushed her from his chest and out of the branches of the tree before yelling, "Rin! Run!"

...

Rin landed on her feet just barely catching herself as she fell from the tree. She had been asleep, but was abruptly woken up from a wonderful dream by Obito's warning.

She did not know what she was running from, but if Obito told her to run away, she was knew it was something bad.

Then a couple of white creatures appeared at her flanks, they were laughing and running along next to her after appearing from out of the ground. More of them came. She ducked and ran to the right trying to get away. Coming to a grove that dead ended, she stopped and turned around, setting her feet and pulling a kunai into her hand. The woods were quiet now, but she could still feel herself being watched.

"Rin?" Another familiar voice came from above. She looked up. It was Kakashi.

"Thank god. Kakashi." Rin smiled up at him.

Kakashi hopped down next to her and uncovered his sharingan, looking around for the enemy she was preparing to fight. "Where have you been? We've been searching for you for days. I finally tracked you here."

"It's a long story." Rin replied, breathing hard after running. "There is someone after me."

"Who?" He demanded.

A tinkle of whimsical laughter came from the woods again. Now Kakashi turned, looking around and activating his chidori. He yelled, "Who is there?!"

"It's just us." Several Mist Ninja appeared like ghosts from the woods. They approached slowly, surrounding the two leaf ninja in the grove.

As Kakashi and Rin turned to stand back to back, Rin began to falter. Her brow became soaked with sweat and she began to cough. The adrenaline of fight or flight was catching up to her. She vomited up wooden splinters, as the wood style took over her insides.

"Rin?" Kakashi looked over his shoulder in concern but was distracted by the oncoming attack. He hit the first couple of attacking ninja with his chidori.

Rin's anguished screams became louder as Kakashi pivoted and slid around her, attempting to protect her.

"I… I..." Rin stammered as she stood up from where she crouched on the ground. Wooden shafts had begun to burst their way out of her back. Driven by intolerable pain, she shifted into Kakashi's path as he went for the next mist shinobi. His lightening cutter went straight through her heart. She gasped and spit up more blood before sighing with relief as the terrible pain subsided and death began to take over. The rest of her body began to change around Kakashi's arm, turning to wood and growing roots that planted themselves into the soil.

"Rin?" In shock, Kakashi pulled his arm out of the tree that was once Rin. All that was left of her was a small imprint of her face. Paralyzed, he stood there and looked at her, a tear fell from his eye. "Rin."

Now pain gripped Kakashi's left eye. He fell forward, hitting his head against the tree trunk and knocking himself out.

...

Obito found himself in the real world again as Madara leisurely made his way to the fight. The younger Uchiha came to, just in time to witness Kakashi's chidori go through Rin's chest, and then, the wood style took over the rest of her body, turning her completely into a winding oak tree.

At Madara's request, Guruguru had molded his body into an armor like shape around Obito's body. He laughed lightly, and said, "oops… I guess we didn't give her enough of that injection."

Anguish tore its way through Obito's body. The pain that hit his right eye did not even come close to the pain that ripped apart his heart.

The mist ninja had turned to look at him, believing he was Madara and waiting for instructions. None of them were prepared when Obito appeared amidst them, grabbing a sword and slicing through the closest three ninja in a fit of rage.

He took control of Tobi's wood style, shooting wood shafts through multiple opponents at once. The mist ninja attempted to fight back but none of their blows met their marks, passing through Obito's body as if he were a mere shadow and not a solid form. Meanwhile Obito cut through them without hesitation until no one was left alive.

Obito let go of the bloody swords in his hands and stepped over Kakashi's unconscious body, dropping to his knees in front of Rin. He bent his head and rested his right hand upon the imprint of her face. A mournful sob released from his body, and then, he was no more.

* * *

 **Madara**

One humid summer night, the moonlight streamed in through the open window of the small house, which sat on the edge of the Uchiha compound, where a young Madara Uchiha slept peacefully next to his younger brother, Izuna. The night cicadas called fervently into the tiny room, maintaining the rhythm of the night song that played in the young boys' sleeping dreams.

Madara woke suddenly, sensing someone watching him through the window. He scanned the dimly light room, stopping on the shaggy black head of his lightly snoring brother. Everything was as it should be and nothing was out of place. Pulling out a kunai from under his mat, he wiped the sweat from his brow before quietly moving towards the window. The spy must have been scared away by his movement because Madara noted the brush rustle in the distance as the intruder slipped away.

Deciding he would follow the spy on his own instead of alerting his father, Madara climbed through the open window. There was no need for anyone else. He was a shinobi in his own right, and his senses were particularly acute for a ten year old boy. Not long ago, his father, Tajima, praised him for his prodigious talents and told him, he would be a great shinobi one day, once he activated his sharingan.

Not use to praise from his father, who was a harsh and sometimes cruel man, he puffed out his chest afterwards, determined that he would not die young like his older brothers. Determined that he would live and become a hero to the Uchiha Clan, protecting his younger brother from the likes of Senju scum.

Madara stalked into the woods, following a newly laid trail through the brush. The spies must have been young. Children like him. They had left behind too many clues.

He crept deeper into the foliage to make certain they were all gone, and came across a small encampment. He slipped quietly into some brush to see exactly who owned this camp. There was a ninja seated upright against a nearby tree. Madara guessed he was supposed to be the night watch though he had already nodded off to sleep. Madara sighed deeply... luckily for him. Because the camp appeared to be owned by a small traveling group from the Hyuga clan. He knew he would never be able to hide from the byakugan.

Madara turned to go back home. The Hyuga clan was aligned with the Senju clan and they surely could protect themselves, but they were not a warring clan. There was no point in attacking them, when the odds were against him in numbers, anyway.

Before he left, something… or someone caught his eye. Nearby the camp was a girl with long dark brown hair, and in the short black kimono and long pants worn by most kunoichi. She was facing away from him and loading a bow and arrow. She knelt and eyed a target on a tree trunk, which Madara could not see from his position in the nightlight. She pulled back and let the arrow go… ZING!

Madara wondered if she hit her target. The girl turned slightly, pulling another arrow from her back. He could see the engorged blood vessels surrounding her large white eyes. Fascinated, he crouched in the brush and watched her until she had used all of her arrows.

As the girl stood up and began to move away, Madara slid forward slightly to get a better look at her. He thought she was very beautiful. He would remember her face and think about her often. But as he did so, she stopped and spun around, noting him watching her in the brush not far away.

She put her hands up protectively and stared at the strange boy, hiding in the brush.

Knowing he was caught, Madara stood up with the kunai still in his hand. The girl eyed him and then sat deeper into her fighting stance. Madara looked at the weapon in his hand and then he looked at her. He placed the weapon behind his back and smiled at her, before backing away.

The girl just stared after him as he moved away and then he turned around to run back to the Uchiha compound, knowing the girl would soon alert the rest of her group.

...

Three years later…

A thirteen year old girl with long brown hair and white eyes sat hidden in the woods about a quarter mile from the river banks, watching two boys as they challenged each other in several playful yet competitive games.

"Byakugan." Eiko had stumbled across Hashirama and his friend as she made her way to the river from the Senju Compound where she was visiting with her father, the present leader of the Hyuga clan.

Earlier that morning, she considered asking him, "Do you mind if I come with you today, Hashirama? I'd like to visit the river banks too."

Hashirama might have smiled down at Eiko, placing a hand on her shoulder like he always did when he spoke to her. "Of course, it would be nice to have the company."

But Eiko had considered too long and before she could ask, Hashirama was already out of the door and running with his short bobbed hair flying wildly behind him through the woods to the river.

"That boy! Always in such a hurry these days." His mother had scolded after him.

"Oh… he forgot his lunch. Would you mind taking it to him, Eiko?" The woman noticed her, as the quiet girl stood in the Senju courtyard looking after the boy who had just disappeared out of the gate.

"Yes, ma'am." Eiko took the package and then made her way towards the river. She had to use her byakugan to find him, and when she did, she was surprised to find that he was not alone.

Another boy, with long spiky black hair was playing on the bank with him. Eiko thought the boy looked familiar but she could not quite place where she had seen him before. She had never seen him among the Senju clan, so he must have been from another clan.

The unspoken rule had always been to never ask another's family name when just passing a stranger in peace. But that was never an option for Eiko nor the others in her clan, since their bloodline was given away instantly by their white eyes. It had always made them vulnerable, in addition to the fact that the Hyuga clan was no longer a traditional battle clan. The clan spent part of its time collecting and protecting valuable history and justus from around the world, part of the time acting as sensory ninja for their allied clans, and part of the time growing and trading vegetables and flowers. This was why a relationship with a strong clan like the Senju clan had always been important. There was even talk of Eiko marrying the second of the Senju leader's two sons, Tobirama. Though Eiko had always had eyes for the eldest son, Hashirama, he was already promised to another from the Uzumaki clan.

Eiko waited until Hashirama parted ways with the strange boy, and then she shyly approached him. Her cheeks burning bright red, she quickly explained, "Your mother sent your lunch."

Hashirama smiled down at Eiko and took the package from her, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Thanks Eiko."

Then he paused, not removing his hand and looking into her white eyes seriously. "Did you see the boy who I was with?"

Eiko nodded quietly.

"He's name is Madara." Hashirama replied. "I'm not sure of his family name… but he's from another clan. Maybe an enemy clan… so it's best we don't say anything about him to anyone."

Eiko nodded again. Then she offered in a soft voice. "I'm good at keeping secrets. You can count on me, Hashirama."

"I know. You're the best Eiko!" Hashirama plopped down on the bank and unwrapped the package. "Come on. Let's see what my mother put in here."

Eiko sat down next to her friend and peeked over his shoulder as he looked in the lunch package. He handed her a portion of his rice and said, "Madara and I have become really good friends actually. Both of us imagine a world where children like our younger brothers won't need to fight and won't be sent to their deaths. You know I bet we can do it, Eiko… all there needs to be is an alliance between the Senju and the Uchiha clans."

Hashirama had a tendency to say things around Eiko that he would never dare to say to anyone in his clan. She would listen and nod encouragingly. And sometimes like today, she got up enough nerve to actually reply in a full sentence.

"If anyone can do it, it would be you, Hashirama." Eiko smiled brightly at the boy.

Just then a nearby bush rustled as Madara returned to the banks. "Hey! I forgot to tell you…"

He stopped midstep, looking back and forth between Hashirama and the girl sitting with him by the river. He recognized the situation immediately. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled a kunai from his belt. "You… you're a Hyuga."

As they both stood up, Eiko moved behind Hashirama, uncertain about this fierce looking boy in front of her. Madara pointed the kunai at Hashirama. "I knew that name sounded familiar… you're a Senju! An enemy to the Uchiha Clan!"

Hashirama slid into his own fighting stance, also pulling out a kunai. "So I guess that means you are an Uchiha."

Hashirama sounded more hesitant than hostile. He looked behind him at Eiko, who had activated her byakugan and slid into a juuken stance. He could not allow Madara to hurt Eiko, but he also did not want to fight his friend.

"Wait!" Hashirama said. "Even though we now know each other's clans, that doesn't mean we are not still the same friends, who met here every day on the river banks for the last few months."

"What are you talking about?!" Madara spat. "It is our duty to protect our clans first! We are shinobi! This friendship means nothing."

Madara and Hashirama dove at each other, exchanging blows back and forth across the river. Eventually as usual, Hashirama got the best of Madara, tossing him to ground and placing his kunai against his throat for a kill strike. But Hashirama relaxed his hold and moved away, letting Madara go.

He backed up and grabbed Eiko's hand, pulling her a safe distance away. But before he disappeared into the woods, he said, "I will never kill a friend."

Frustrated, Madara yelled after. "Hey! We are no longer friends!"

Hashirama stopped again and looked back over his shoulder, smiling. "See ya tomorrow then?"

"Yea. Sure." Madara conceded, rolling his eyes and grumbling.

...

Two years later…

The brash and fire that was Madara Uchiha came charging out of the eastern woods on the western border of the Uchiha territory. He stormed onto the river banks with Akihito Uchiha following closely at his heels. Then he stopped abruptly causing Akihito to run into the back of him, and scowled noting Eiko among the boys at the river's edge again.

"What is the girl doing here again?" Madara demanded as he looked down his nose at the small girl sitting quietly behind Hashirama Senju.

He still had not bothered to learn Eiko's name though he had seen her more than a few times in the company of his friend Hashirama. He called her 'the girl' because apparently she was the only girl who he knew, so there was no need to differentiate her from any other girl.

It had been a year since Madara Uchiha, Akihito Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Kazuo Senju, and Kiyoshi Nara all started meeting at the river banks. It was an unofficial meeting of the Uchihas and Senjus. The next generation looking to form some sort of peace between the two war loving clans. Eiko usually tagged along with Hashirama when she came with her father to the Senju Compound to make the group an even number.

Kazuo Senju and Kiyoshi Nara were Hashirama's most trusted comrades, and the only ones other than Eiko who he trusted with his biggest secret. Both boys were loyal to Hashirama and would have given their lives to keep his secret, as he had risked his life for them multiple times in battle.

Akihito Uchiha was less of a loyal friend to Madara and more of a subordinate, who feared for his life if he ever dared to defy Madara. He echoed almost everything Madara said without fail, knowing that if he disagreed, he would get a harsh beating later. Besides the fact that Madara was only second to his father in the Uchiha clan, he may have garnered more respect than his elder by the age of fifteen just by fear alone. No one would have taken Akihito's word over Madara's word even if he chose to tell about the secret meetings.

Madara had not officially agreed to be a part of the group. He loved his clan, his family, and his brother, and watching the deaths of his loved ones had never settled well with him. But fighting, weapons, and the blood and sweat of battle were all that he knew. It was all that he was good at. So he had no love for the idea of a world with no war either. Still he showed up every week like the others. Mainly because he felt like he was the only grounded mind in a group full of daydreaming airheads.

"Akihito and I will be paired off this time. So Kazuo, you take Kiyoshi, and Madara, you have Eiko this time." Hashirama spoke with authority, but withered slightly when he encountered the look of death in Madara's eyes.

"I'm NOT with the girl! She goes with a weak ninja like the Nara! I have Akihito!" Madara raged. Actual steam appeared to pour out of his nostrils.

"You can't spar with your own clansmen. That defeats the purpose of these meetings." Hashirama complained.

"Who made that rule?!" Madara demanded. Though this had always been the rule, Madara seemed to conveniently forget the rule whenever it was his turn to rotate to Eiko or Kiyoshi.

"Eiko is the only one you haven't sparred yet, Mad…" Akihito stopped mid sentence as the older Uchiha turned his death stare towards his subordinate. The fact that Akihito decided to disagree and side with Hashirama at that moment had set fire to a wild storm.

"It's fine…" Eiko said, softly, trying to defuse the situation. "I'll just sit out."

Akihito breathed a sigh of relief when Madara turned his wrath from his intended target onto Eiko, who had built up the confidence to speak at exactly the wrong time.

"Don't give me that victim act!" Madara turned his angry black eyes on Eiko walking up to her and swinging a punch to the side of her head. The punch did not connect as Eiko activated her byakugan and delicately danced to the right, sliding up to his left side with a palm strike to the medial portion of his shoulder. Gracefully she hit him once then twice in the time of a breath, knocking out two chakra points and weakening that arm.

Feeling his arm go limp, Madara's anger unleashed itself, bursting right out of his chest. He activated his sharingan and threw another blow into her chest. She dodged again but this time he saw the intended move coming and pivoted into her next move with a knee to her left flank, knocking her forward and onto the ground. Eiko rolled onto her knees and hopped gracefully to her feet, placing her hands up in front her face in a defensive position.

Madara growled and directed another powerful punch towards her head. She moved so quickly it was difficult to differentiate her pivots from her strikes as palm strike after palm strike followed. Madara's body was knocked back further with each strike, trapped within range of the eight trigrams circle. He could feel himself weakening though Eiko was choosing non-vital tenketsu. His eyes moved as quickly as her movements, connecting just momentarily but long enough to place a genjutsu.

Releasing the genjutsu, he suddenly disappeared from her left side and reappeared behind her, yanking her by the neck and slamming her to ground. He directed a punch full force into her sternum which would have potentially been fatal if Hashirama had not stepped in, kicking him in the shoulder and sending him into the river with a SPLASH!

"This is sparring!" Hashirama yelled after Madara, who was now thrashing around angrily in the water. "You could have killed her!"

"We are NINJA!" Madara yelled back. "We've all been to war! Witnessed death up close! All of us EXCEPT HER!"

Soaked to the bone with black hair driping in his face, Madara thrust a finger in Eiko's direction. "The Hyuga… the ninja too good for battle! Why is she even here?!"

It was unclear if he hated her more for being female or for being a Hyuga.

Hashirama walked over and helped Eiko up. "You did well. No one ever beats Madara…"

"Except Hashirama. Because Madara cheats." Kiyoshi interjected, sounding bored. He yawned as Madara stared daggers at him, and then Kiyoshi shrugged in reply, not caring.

"Naras! Hyugas! I don't have time for this child's play!" Madara yelled. "We're too old for this. Uchihas and Senjus meet in battle. THAT'S IT! I'm done with this!"

Madara stomped a few steps towards the woods, before turning back and yelling. "AKIHITO!"

The younger Uchiha looked at the others apologetically and then followed his older clansman back into the forest.

...

Six years later...

Eiko stumbled over her kimono as she quietly made her way to the very first row of seated guests.

 _How embarrassing!_ She thought to herself. She knelt down and took her appointed seat next to Madara Uchiha the present Uchiha clan leader. She wished she could sit in the back, hidden among the less conspicuous guests. But it would have been unseemly for the Hyuga clan leader to hide in the back of such a major event. Truly she wished she could have missed the whole thing all together. But that would have raised even more eyebrows.

"Good of you to join us." Madara muttered at her in his all too often sarcastic and harsh tone. Turning slightly towards her in order politely change his sightline, he furrowed his quizzical brow at her, examining her with ore colored eyes. Then he sharply muttered, "I was waiting for you."

Embarrassed, she flushed and smiled awkwardly under his appraising gaze, while trying to subtly straighten her disheveled kimono.

"I was... well... something held me up." Eiko explained, apologetically. The truth was that she had stood outside for about twenty minutes in the heat and the dust, before she finally resolved to enter the wedding ceremony.

"If you had allowed me to escort you, it might not have been so difficult to walk inside." Madara scolded, his tone softening a bit. "After all, this very powerful and adventitious match between Hashirama and his new bride must be kept in check somehow, don't you think?"

Eiko remained silent and turned her white eyes away from her most aggressive suitor yet. Madara never seemed to think about anything but his ambitions.

"I will never understand how Hashirama could overlook a woman as beautiful as you." Madara moved his hand slightly, so it just barely touched Eiko's hand until she moved her hand away quickly. Watching as Eiko's cheeks burned even brighter red, Madara smiled at her though the smile did not spread to his hard eyes. His smiles always reminded her of a wily cat watching a mice.

Madara had been angling for her hand in marriage since Hashirama was named hokage and leader of the village hidden in the leaves two years ago. He claimed it was her beauty that he found irresistible, but Eiko was certain it was actually her power that he was after.

After he discovered the nature of her true feelings for the first Hokage, Madara only began to pressure her even more. Using every possible moment to point out and remind her of Hashirama's agreement to marry Mito Uzumaki. And how that union would tip the scales of power even further in the direction of the Senju. If Hashirama could overlook Eiko's love and devotion for him for all of these years, wouldn't he eventually overlook the wellbeing and safety of her clan?

"If we were united, you would always have the backing of the Uchiha clan." Madara had promised many times. Though his efforts were in vein, Eiko would not agree to marry Madara and particularly not as a strategic political move against Hashirama.

Though she would deny it adamantly to her grave, Eiko Hyuga had been in love with Hashirama Senju since she was child. But much to the dismay of Eiko's broken heart, Hasirama never returned her feelings. He only ever saw her as a good friend. She was not even sure he was aware of how she felt about him.

When the Land of Fire announced the establishment of a hidden village within its borders, which would foremost unit the Senju and Uchiha clans, many in the Hyuga clan were against the idea of rejoining themselves to such a notoriously brutal and battle loving people like the Uchiha Clan.

Long ago, the Hyuga Clan broke from the bloodline of Airi Otsutsuki's descendants, who did not carry her byakugan kekkei genkai. For centuries, the few non-byakugan descendants were kept separate from the rest of the clan in order to prevent the byakugan bloodline from diluting any further. And due to the continuous inbreeding that resulted, a barbaric bloodlust developed in them as well as a very rare kekkei genkai which allowed them to manipulate and weaponize their bone structure. Though the jutsu was very powerful, it was also a considered a curse, as it greatly shortened their lifespan. Mostly driven by madness, these descendants began to kill off the byakugan users, who were higher up in the clan. Eventually the small group was forced out of the Hyuga clan, and became known as the Kaguya clan, based on a long forgotten god who intended to destroy the world. The Kaguya clan was still well known for their berserker fighting style, the ability to manipulate their bone structure through the shikotsumayku, and their refusal to leave a single enemy alive on the battlefield.

But Eiko's father was killed a few months before the announcement of the village, so she had already ascended to clan leader. Her unwavering loyalty to Hashirama Senju soon swayed the minds of the rest of her clan. They eventually agreed to become one of the founding clans of Konohagakure.

"What will you do after today?" Madara currently whispered in her ear, eyeing the young couple as their hands were joined together by the priest. "Now that your precious Hashirama is married, will you accept my offer?"

Eiko sighed, keeping her eyes forward and attempting to ignore Madara.

"Think of it? The Uchiha and Hyuga clans together. Two of the great dojutsus bound as one forever." Madara smiled to himself. He was a handsome man, who could be very charming when he wanted to be, but something about the coldness of his black eyes scared Eiko.

Madara had changed over the years. When she first met him that day at the river, he was hot tempered and fierce, but it became apparent that he cared deeply for those he considered family or friends. She later remembered that he was the same boy who she met in the woods that night so many years ago. The boy who had watched her train and then had playfully smiled and left without attacking her. But the death of his younger brother caused Madara to become cold and calculating. His power grew by leaps and bounds, but he started to only care about his endless ambitions. He had already fought Hashirama twice to the death, and he only lived afterwards because Hashirama refused to kill him.

"I'll consider your offer." Eiko replied politely wishing the ceremony would end quicker, so she could get away from this place for multiple reasons. The first reason being Madara's advances.

Eiko was not planning to consider Madara's offer. She had not considered any offer, and she refused to be sealed to, or to marry a man, who she did not love. She even refused Tobirama, the other Senju brother, who she had been betrothed to before the clans were united under the hidden village. The Hyuga clan no longer need an adventitious marriage to ensure the Senju clan's protection, and as leader of the clan, there was no one to force her into a match.

The fact that she was once Tobirama's intended, only made her more attractive to Madara. Until he finally left the village for good a few months later, he continued to do everything possible short of placing her under a genjutsu to get her to say yes to his proposal of marriage.

But the thought of being sealed to a man who was as power hungry as Madara Uchiha, sent a horrifying chill down Eiko's spine. She knew the marriage would be a never ending tug of wills. And whose to say she would win... it was highly possible she could loss herself in his ruthlessness. No. She would definitely never marry Madara Uchiha.

Two years later…

Madara hid in the shadows along the street with his hood pulled down to cover his face. He was now officially a rogue ninja. If anyone, even an Uchiha saw him in this village, he would be hunted and captured.

It had been a month since he set Kurama against the Konohagakure. The plan had failed horribly, and now, not only was he a sworn enemy to the village, he had also handed Hashirama and his Uzumaki wife, an immense amount of power.

But in the last few weeks, his luck had changed. He encountered a friend, who reminded him of a tablet that he discovered in the southern forest once guarded by Kurama. The tablet was part of both an ancient Uchiha and an ancient Hyuga legend. While the Uchiha legend stated the tablet was only decipherable by the mangekyo sharingan, the Hyuga legend stated the byakugan saw half the truth, the sharingan saw half a lie, and the Rinnegan could decipher the tablet completely.

When Madara first read the tablet, he discovered the secret to unsealing the mangekyo. After possessing Kurama, he found this to be the truth. So he traveled back to the tablet and deciphered it fully. The tablet provided an infallible way to defeat Hashirama, to take back his clan, and to take his rightful position as hokage. Though it was also possible that this plan might kill him first.

He was at a fork in the road, and he was unsure which path to take. The power that sat at the end of one path was awfully enticing. It would be enough to restore the Uchiha name, and avenge the death of his brother and his clan. However, down the other path lay a long and peaceful life, and after the many disappointments that life had handed him, that also seemed enticing. But he had never been one to dwell too long on disappointment. His arrogance only allowed him to see a set back as a small bump in the road. Then he thought of Eiko. And he knew if she agreed to come with him, he would choose the second path.

He had asked her to marry him too many times to count before he broke from the village. She said no every time, but Madara only considered a 'no' to be a temporary state before a 'yes'. He knew she was afraid of his political ambitions. And his harsh and sometimes brutal ideals. Maybe she was even afraid of him. But if he offered her a peaceful life away from this village and their friend, Hashirama, who had managed to inadvertently cause her so much pain, he knew she would agree this time.

He caught sight of her as she walked past, carrying a basket of flowers. She was still beautiful, but a deep and permanent sadness had set into her white eyes. He grabbed her hand, causing her to drop the basket, and pulled her to him in the shadows.

She opened her mouth to scream, but he stifled the scream with his hand, pushing the hood back from his head. He whispered, "It's me."

Eiko still looked fearfully up at him, even after she saw who it was. But she relaxed as he looked deeper into her eyes, bringing his face down close so their noses almost touched. He whispered, still holding her against him. "I did not come here to fight. I came here because I wanted to ask you to marry me one more time. But this time, I want you to come with me… away from here. We can grow old together in peace, raise a family, maybe you can learn to love me like you love Hashirama… at the very least, I will live my life to make sure that you are happy."

Her white eyes softened as she took in the sincerity and love that radiated from Madara's eyes. She remembered the boy that he use to be, and she placed her hand on his hand, signaling for him to move it. But then she looked to the ground, "I would come with you… but I can't."

Sharply, Madara let her go and backed up a step. She grabbed his hand to stop him and said. "It's not that I don't want to… But I've been sealed to Mito and the Tailed Fox Demon. Lord First will be able to find me anywhere and then he will also find you."

Madara took another step back and yanked his hand from her hand. Rage set in on his heart and cold hatred consumed his face and his eyes. Eiko saw this and the fear returned to her eyes. Quickly, she moved away too, picking up her basket, and running back out into the street.

"Hashirama." Madara growled angrily, clinching his fists until his nails cut into his skin. The Senju had taken his clan, his village, his reputation as a shinobi, and now, he had taken the one woman who Madara wanted... and he did not even love her.

Because Eiko loved Hashirama, she had agreed to seal herself to Mito Uzumaki in order to suppress the nine tailed beast. Filled with fury, Madara turned to head out of the village and back south. He was going to make certain that Hashirama and all of his dreams burned.

 **Thanks for reading... happy holidays.**


	25. A Worthy Death

"If Neji took Hinata, it is because he is being manipulated." Hiro Hyuga spoke before the jonin council. "I have no doubt both he and Sasuke are being manipulated by Madara."

"You are blinded by the fact that Sabui is your grandson." Inoichi Yamanaka retorted, frustrated. He was ready to pull out his sandy blonde hair strand by strand, as haywire as things had been ever since Pain's attack on the village. He was not even quite sure if he should be trusting this entire room of elders, clan leaders, and high ranking jonin. Based on the recently revealed past events, even the hokage was not above suspicion. And unfortunately, at present the only two, who he had complete confidence in, were his old teammates and best friends, Choza Akimichi and the current jonin commander, Shikakui Nara. "And I get it but…"

"And Hinata is my granddaughter. I am not blind to anything. But Sabui has been corrupted and weakened from all of the years that he has spent under Orochimaru, Danzo, and Madara's influence. While Hinata has grown into a strong and capable shinobi. I also have no doubt that she will come out of this ok. While Neji… I'm not so sure about." Hiro scolded. "Besides Homura and Koharu, I am the only one who is old enough to have lived among those who remembered Madara Uchiha when he was a konoha shinobi and leader of the Uchiha clan."

Hiro continued. "My great aunt, Lady Eiko Hyuga, was leader of the Hyuga clan then. She was also one of the few people who had a relationship with Madara and whom he might have even cared for… in some form or fashion. Even she was very much afraid of him. All of this… is Madara's doing. He will have ensured that Neji, Sasuke, and any other involved in his plot are acting exactly how he planned for them to act. Every single last one of them. If he wanted Hinata, he was going to get her one way or another."

Hiro turned to look at Yamato. "The reason why Madara approached Naruto that night in the north is because Naruto was able to influence Nagato, one of his most loyal subordinates. If Madara admitted that he believes Naruto is an embodiment of Hashirama, it is because he sees Naruto as a rival. He is afraid Naruto may be able to influence the others.

Even as power hungry as Madara is, there was a time that even he would have turned back from that dark path. So just like Naruto, Marada also believes that Sasuke is not completely lost, yet."

"So then, he will want to get rid of Naruto as quickly as possible." Shikaku stated.

"Not really his style. He will want to defeat him in battle. Finally prove that he is the stronger of the two. Uchiha versus Senju. That is more Madara's style." Homura stated.

" And he will use Hinata and Sasuke to bait Naruto into that fight." Shikaku replied.

"I agree with everything Hiro has said. And the intel that Kakashi has sent back is proof that Madara was manipulating Danzo... and likely Orochimaru the entire time too. Hiruzen was right. We should have found a way to make things right between the village and the Uchiha clan. Madara set the nine tails against the village and kidnapped those children in order to widen the gap between the village and the Uchihas, so his own people would become a target… Sacrificial lambs to push the two children, who he wanted, towards that accursed power of the Uchiha bloodline. A punishment for those who dared to defy him. And like fools, we fell for it." Homura scowled pushing his glasses up his nose. He clutched his fists together in frustration. "He hid the altered Hyuga, while letting Lord Third discover the Uzumaki clone because he knew with the help of an Uchiha, the girl could be hidden in plain sight, and this discovery would strain Danzo and Hiruzen's relationship even further, ensuring Hiruzen would protect both Itachi and Sasuke at all costs, even to his own life. I should have seen this when Lord Third insisted on placing Naruto and Sasuke on a genin team together. Hiruzen knew Itachi would protect that bond, ensuring he would continue to keep the girl out of Danzo's hands."

"It also pushed Orochimaru's forbidden experimenting into the light, causing the rift between Lord Third and his student which forced Orochimaru to the Akatsuki." Shikadai added.

"Orochimaru did not remain with the Akatsuki long." Inoichi pointed out.

"Long enough to hate Itachi and want to possess his brother and his power."

"Though I don't quite believe Orochimaru is or was being manipulated. At least not in the way the others are." Tsunade shook her head, deep in thought as she spoke. "He surely hated the Akatsuki because he saw through their supposed "higher" purpose and the group did not serve his own self centered goals. Despite everything our master did to prevent this... Orochimaru is evil, but there is nothing he hates more than to be used to do the dirty work of others. He might be the one loose end that Madara was never able to fully tie up."

Tsunade continued, "Plus, Madara obviously wanted him dead. If Sasuke killed him and then Itachi killed him again. The rumors that Orochimaru is still alive in some form or another… are likely true. Though he tried to make secret of it, Orochimaru did achieve sage level, and like Madara, I am absolutely certain he was not given a sage's rebirth or accepted into the Pure Land."

"Also like Madara, he never does anything that does not benefit himself and his power." Koharu grumbled in agreement.

"So, if we want the rest of the answers, we should find Orochimaru." Shikaku said to himself. "Madara probably wanted him dead because he knows too much."

"Lady Tsunade, I propose we form a small group of intel gathers and tracker nins to interrogate the girl from Taka. She worked for Orochimaru for years. We can use that information to find him. The rest of us will gather our forces and join up with the allied forces." Shikaku suggested.

"I agree. I have sent Kakashi ahead to track down Naruto with Itachi's assistance, the rest of us will soon follow." Tsunade nodded and began to speak again, before she was interrupted by Shizune entering the chamber.

"Excuse me, mi'lady." She said apologetically. She walked over to Tsunade and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Sai and Shikamaru are outside. They state it is very important that they speak to you."

* * *

"We already know about the Kushina Uzumaki clone." Tsunade replied, crossing her arms over her chest. "Kakashi has found Itachi Uchiha alive and sent back his intel."

"And the altered Hyuga?" Shikamaru replied.

"We know Orochimaru took one of his byakugan and gave it to Danzo. Other than that we have no idea why Madara had him hidden for so long."

"I've encountered Sabui before. While I was with the root." Sai stated. "I couldn't say anything before because of Danzo's curse mark. But several years ago, some of us were sent to guard a lab on the outskirts of the Land of Trees. I never saw them with my own eyes, but I heard whispers that both Orochimaru and Kabuto ran the lab. Sometimes we would be assigned to escort Sabui back and forth or to take food to the place where he was held. He was kept in the same area as another shinobi named Kimimaro. A ninja from the Kaguya clan who had the clan's rare shikotsumyaku. At first it was not clear what they were doing with them, but later, I could tell from some of the conversation that they were harvesting cells. They were only held there for a few months and then they both disappeared."

Tsunade frowned. "But for what purpose?"

"I would guess it has something to do with all of the rest of the experimenting that went on under Orochimaru." Shikamaru replied thinking out loud. "And I'm thinking that is why they took Hinata… not just to bait Naruto. Based on Sakura's report of what happened at the bridge, Sasuke appeared sick before Madara took him away. Maybe that was because he used too much chakra, fighting Danzo and then team seven… or maybe it's because Madara is doing something to him. We already know Orochimaru was injecting him with all kinds of drugs, using curse marks… to make him immune to poisons and to enhance his abilities, etc. If Madara was injecting him with something to enhance his powers but it need to be stabilized or had side effects that needed to be suppressed… to keep him alive long enough…"

"The side effects would have been unmasked, after he used up so much chakra." Tsunade continued. "And this time he did not have Orochimaru's chakra to draw on since Itachi released and killed it. But what would be the end goal? And if they had Sabui, what do they need Hinata for?"

"I don't know." Shikamaru replied. "Hinata is able to be bound to the nine tails… Not every Hyuga is able to be sealed directly to the Tailed Demon Fox, in fact, most aren't. Maybe he needs to push Sasuke even further and Sabui's cells just aren't cutting it anymore."

* * *

"So, it all worked out in the end, Madara." Black zetsu said from inside his green plant shell. "Danzo's endless greed, Itachi's inspiring self sacrifice, and Masuku's heartwarming devotion to her sensei have given us exactly what we needed to bypass Nagato's flub up."

"That is if Sasuke manages to pull this off." Madara replied, watching the young Uchiha who lay in an unconscious state on a stone slab like bed. "I am impressed by his resilience though. With how hard and how fast I've had to push him, even with the Hyuga's cells, he should be by all rights dead already."

Black Zetsu smiled, maliciously. "I'm going to miss his sour disposition when he is gone."

"It won't be long now." Madara said tasting the delicious power on his tongue. "He is almost ready to give us exactly what we want."

* * *

Proudly, Guy stood with his arms crossed as he watched his quarry's legs and arms bound tight... _What did that guy_ _say his name was again? Kissminee... Killemlee? No matter... he certainly was a worthy opponent!_ _To defeat this mighty foe, I had to open my seventh gate of shock, unleashing the daytime tiger and bathing this body in that oh so sweet blue sweat!_

After returning to his comrades with an unconscious Kisame in tow, everyone was quite impressed with Guy's physical prowess, though no one was impressed with the amount of sweat that he was still spraying on everyone as he past by. Yick!

"Might Guy. I guess you really are capable despite the way you look... but that foul smelling sweat of yours has got my nose shook! Phew!" Killer Bee rapped, waving his hand in Guy's direction. The sharkskin sword leaning against him also snarled in Guy's direction, perturbed by the smell. Killer Bee soothed Samehada's irritation by cooing and tickling her under her jawline.

Aoba pushed his glasses up his nose and shook his head, commenting on both his comrade and the Kumo jinchuuriki, "Can this get any weirder?"

Killer Bee was in the middle of battling the Akatsuki when Aoba, Might Guy, and the clouds' best tracker nin, Motoi, showed up looking for him.

After the rift created by Sasuke's attack on Kumo's remaining jinchuuriki, upon waking, Lady Tsunade sent Guy and Aoba Yamshiro as envoys to Kumo with intel on the particular Akatsuki, who was known to be targeting Killer Bee. Guy, who had fought Kisame before, though he only vaguely remembered this encounter, and Aoba, who was skilled at intel gathering as well as proficit in multiple other ninjutsu and genjutsu.

After a long battle, Guy finally incapacitated Kisame with the deadly punch, _daytime tiger_ , which was completely resistant to Kisame's chakra absorption. Now bound, Aoba attempted to gather as much intel as possible by entering the Akatsuki's mind with his _psycho mind transmission,_ a specialty of the Yamanaka clan.

But where this deep dive led him was much more profitable than he even hoped...

 _Kisame stood over his master's body, as Fuguki Suikazan lay bleeding out on the stone ground. The man spat out his last words mixed with blood. "Kisame... why..."_

 _Ignoring the question, Kisame threw away his sword and leaned over the body, relieving Samehada from her strap and placing her on his own back. He had no answer for that question. He had no moral qualm with Fuguki's selling intel to other enemy villages. In fact, he may have helped him do so if he saw some benefit for himself. As a killer of comrades, he had never known true loyalty. His world was filled with nothing but lies. His master's betrayal was truly just an excuse to kill him and take the power of the great sword Samehada for himself._

 _But then, he found that he was not actually alone in the chamber. A small shadow loomed in the hall just beyond the archway. "Good work, Kisame."_

 _Kisame turned and grasped at his hilt, ready to strike if necessary. Then the shadow moved out into the light and he saw that it was a child. A boy who was no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. "I was right. Fuguki was colluding with the enemy. And as his killer... from now on you are the owner of his blade. And my loyal subordinate as well."_

 _"Or... at least I am until you decide to eliminate me too. Am I right?" Kisame narrowed his fish like eyes, suspiciously. "Lord Fourth Mizakage."_

 _The mizakage moved further into the light so his green hair and lavender eyes were fully visible. "I can trust you because of who you are. For the sake of our people and our village, you have always done our dirty work. You followed through on the most treacherous assignments. You have no fanciful notions. You are well aware that this world is full of lies and deceit."_

 _Kisame scoffed at the odd praise. "And all of that knowledge has led me nowhere. It makes me question my own truth as much as anyone else's. Friend or foe? Murderer or hero? Mist shinobi or rogue scum? This false existence has me trapped."_

 _Another shadow appeared beyond the Mizakage as though out of thin air, long wild spiky black hair causing the man to look more animal than human. A deeper and older voice came from the second shadow. "Let me help free you from the pain of that falsehood. I will create a place where you and those like you will belong."_

 _Kisame did not like the cold sensation wafting off the presence of this man. He had been knee deep in the evil of men many times, but this creature was something beyond even that. He grabbed at the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?"_

 _"We'll start with this nation. It has been so amenable in the past... You have worked hard to deal with and dispose of your comrades up until now. Join me and become my comrade. Together, we will bend Kirigakure fully to our will."_

 _"You seem to be willing to put a fair amount of trust in me." Kisame hissed, tightening his grip on his sword. "Too bad I can't do the same since I have no idea who you are."_

 _A gleaming red eye appeared from the darkness. The power radiated from it as though it were actually emitting light. The word slipped lightly from Kisame's lips. "Sharingan."_

 _He let go of his sword and stood up straighter. "So it was you all along. The bloody mist... the suddenly brutal and ruthless ideals of our leader. It was the sharingan manipulating the Mizakage. But what kind of visual prowess is powerful enough to manipulate a human... and even more impressive, a jinchuuriki?"_

 _Kisame growled and demanded. "Just who exactly are you? Tell me?"_

 _"Madara Uchiha."_

 _Kisame scoffed. "Everyone knows Madara Uchiha is long dead."_

 _"I am dead." Madara replied. "But still... here I am speaking to you."_

 _"Reveal yourself!"_

 _Madara took a step forward closer to the light. "Very well... but then you must decide if you are going to trust me or not."_

...

Aoba leaned forward, and sucked in his breath excitedly. "I'm about to see the man in mask's actually face!"

Then the connection abruptly ended as Kisame bit off his own tongue. Reflexively, Aoba removed his hand from Kisame's forehead, feeling the pain like an electric shock. "Unbelievable, he pushed me out of his head by biting off his own tongue!"

Kisame was writhing around on the ground, blood dripping from his mouth as his eyes rolled back into his head. He began to laugh uncontrollably. He yelled to no one in particularly. "Project tsuki no me! True world free of lies! Project tsuki no me! True world free of lies!"

He broke his bonds, roaring before making hand seals. "Water prison jutsu! Summoning jutsu!"

Guy attempted to punch into the water prison but he could not reach the shinobi. "DAMMIT! I can't get to him!"

Aoba slid into a fighting stance too. "Don't worry. He's trapped. But we need to capture him alive to get his intel. Don't let him kill himself!"

Kisame smiled closing his eyes. He thought back to the one person, who he had managed to connect with in this life. The one person who had been like a brother. Itachi Uchiha.

Four years prior...

"You don't understand me. You don't even understand yourself. You're just a thug who got lost in the mist and is wandering aimless without any true destination. Am I wrong?" Itachi replied, not bothering to turn around to look at his new partner. Kisame's mouth curled into what appeared to be more of a snarl than an actual smile, baring his sharp teeth. He placed Samehada to Itachi's neck.

Then he leaned forward and hissed, "You've killed comrades... in fact, you killed your entire clan. I've killed comrades. In fact, that was my entire existence within the mist. Now we are Akatsuki members and comrades of each other... so be wary... of me."

He lift his sword from Itachi's neck as he saw the other Akatsuki's sharingan activate upon the water surface. Itachi got up and walked past him without stopping to look. "Same goes for you."

"Well then... now let's be friends and have some fun alright?" Kisame said in a lighter tone that sounded just as malicious. But he followed Itachi from the deck. "Maybe we won't be each other's final opponents."

"No one, who dares to raise their hands against a comrade, ever dies a decent death." Itachi finally stopped and inspected his new comrade. He noted that the man looked too much like a shark and not enough like a man. "Remember that."

Kisame scoffed. "That's no matter now. Our fates are already sealed. It seems that you and I are to forever be depraved and worthless."

"Not true. We are humans... not fish. No matter how many terrible things a man has done, he will never know the kind of person he has become until he reaches the very end... Will your death be unworthy? Will it find you a place in the Pureland? Will your actions continue to live on in the minds and hearts of others... as a sort of rebirth? The moment of death tells everything about how one's life was lived."

Presently...

"Itachi... my death will not be unworthy!" Kisame's sharks began a feeding frenzy within the water prison, consuming him to death.

* * *

Naruto was unaware of how long he had been locked in Madara's prison. Stale bread was dumped through a slot at the bottom of the door from time to time. And the water basin was kept full with fresh water, but he saw no one for what felt like days.

He spent the time training. The use of Kurama's chakra made him extraordinarily powerful even compared to his sage mode. To the point where he likely could have caved in the entire structure if this was all about just escaping. But he had to figure out how to entice Madara into sending him to the dimension where Hinata was held.

It was obvious that Madara wanted more than just to steal Kurama and kill him. The fact that he had been held so long meant the elder Uchiha was preparing for something.

"Let me speak to him when he finally comes for you." Kurama suggested. "If he knows you have complete control over my power, he will be even more distracted than before. The only thing that the Madara, I knew loved more than power, was a great battle."

When he accessed the tailed beast's chakra, it surrounded him like a brilliant yellow light. His illuminated white chakra mixed completely with Kurama's fiery red chakra. It caused the prison cell to heat up like an oven, the walls trembling with the ferocity of raw power. The first time he shifted into beast mode a combustible explosion went off... BANG!

Naruto released the nine tails chakra and listened anxiously for a few minutes.

"No one heard." Kurama replied.

After daring to shift to beast mode a few more times, Naruto finally understood how Kurama knew these things. Like in sage mode, his ability to sense and identify chakra signatures increased greatly, but it also connected him to others like the binding seal had connected him to Hinata. He could always sense her emotions, in particular a shift of emotion. If she felt something strong enough it may influence his own feelings. In beast mode it was the same only, he could only feeling negative emotions... anger, fear, sadness, hatred, disappointment. He thought no wonder Kurama hated everyone so much.

Finally, the small peek hole door in the large wooden cell door opened and the masked face appeared. "Awww... so it appears you have been waiting patiently like I asked."

"He's not waiting. I'm waiting." Kurama's deep rumbling voice came from Naruto's mouth. The foxy features of the nine tailed beast stretched Naruto's face in a distorted fashion. Kurama's fiery eyes matched forces with the glare of the sharingan that flashed reflexively behind the mask. "Don't be naive, Madara. Even you can't control me within Naruto anymore."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that, my old friend, Kurama." Madara's wily smile could be felt from behind the mask. "I've controlled a jinchuuriki who had complete control over their tailed beast before."

Kurama scoffed. "You dare to compare me to a weak minded being like the three tailed beast! Me?! The great Kurama?!"

"When I'm controlled, it's by a shinobi with immense power, who should never be underestimated. Wouldn't you agree Madara... or is it Obito now?"

"Tomorrow." Madara's voice became cold. "Your Naruto will battle my Sasuke. The winner will get the girl."

"You already know Naruto will not kill Sasuke." Kurama replied, annoyed. Then tauntingly, he added, "Just like Hashirama would never kill you... though he had many, many chances."

"He will if he wants his girl back alive. Tomorrow. Noon." Angrily, Madara snapped the peephole door shut.

Kurama turned Naruto's body back over to his jinchuuriki. Then he growled. "You may have to kill Sasuke."

Naruto shook his head, defiantly. "No. I won't have to kill Sasuke."

"That's what I figured you'd say," Kurama sighed.

* * *

Hinata offered some of her water to the scarred faced man. He took it gratefully, but he did not drink. "Who are you? How did you get here?"

Obito shook his head, just as confused himself. The last thing he remembered was Rin's death. It had replayed over and over in his mind for almost two decades. "My name is Obito Uchiha... I use to... well, I once was..."

He was not sure what he was. He had not been a konoha shinobi or an Uchiha since he was thirteen. He could tell from the reflection in the small pond like mirror that set in the middle of this strange world that he was far from thirteen any longer.

Rubbing his face and pulling at his short hair, he frowned at the grown man in the mirror. Then he looked over at the girl whose kind disposition reminded him so much of his Rin. "Madara took my body. Then he threatened to kill Rin... and I remember watching her die. Kakashi... his chidori went through her chest and then she turned into a tree."

"Kakashi?" Hinata perked up at the name. "I know Kakashi. He is Naruto's team leader. Team seven."

Obito frowned. "Team seven. That was our team number... He is like Minato Sensei then?"

"Minato... Lord Fourth. He was Naruto's father." Hinata smiled. She felt lucky to have found a friend in this desolate place. Though neither she nor he knew how and why he had lost so much time.

"Minato is gone then?" Obito surmised folornly. "And Naruto? Minato's son. Who is he? He must also be a great shinobi too."

"He is." Hinata replied confidently.

Obito noted the way she looked when she spoke about this boy. It was the same look Rin had given him that night when she final told him how she felt in return. "Where is he now?"

"I don't know. I can't feel him through the binding seal any longer. Sasuke Uchiha and my cousin Neji took me and Madara brought me here. Where are we anyway?"

"It's my dimension. The Uchihas called the power to transport here the Kamui. The old wives tale of the three dimensions connected to the mind, the body, and the spirit. The user of the Kamui would be the all powerful god of any of those dimensions that he was able to access. Madara now holds the power to enter and exit this place at will since he took my body. But he is not the only one. The sharingan that I gave to Kakashi can access this dimension too."


	26. As Certain Forces Align

Yamato stood at the edge of the village and watched as the sun rose in the east, over the quiet jumble of tents and partially built structures. He had not been able to sleep for the last few nights. His rest was disturbed with old nightmarish memories of the time before he was found by the black ops.

His memory of that time was choppy, and the first decade of his life was completely blank. His very first memory was waking up in a large test tube within a dark dank laboratory filled with several test tubes housing children just like him. After that, there were a series of these awakenings until finally he found himself outside of his prison.

The first living breathing face that he encountered belonged to Orochimaru, though at the time the sannin was just a stranger. Every time he found himself outside of the test tube, he was given a set of instructions and put through a series of tests. Eventually he began to manipulate wood. Growing small trees in the pots of soil that Orochimaru provided.

He learned a few other things while he worked with his captors. First that he had no name and was called test subject hash135. Second that he was collected during the third war with other young war orphans whose clans and families were offshoots of the Senju clan. Lastly that miraculously, he had lived in that test tube for over a decade even though his biological age was only about six years old at the time.

Soon after he showed he could use wood style, he was placed back in the test tube and he lost time again until Kakashi found him a few years later.

Ever since Kakashi's intel had arrived, he had an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach. After all, he had been one of Orochimaru's experiments too. The very first successful experiment, it seemed. Though no one else was very concerned about him, and he had not been included in the discussion about the altered Hyuga or the Uzumaki clone, he was concerned that he had a part to play in all of this. And every second that past felt as if the other shoe was about to drop.

And then as he yawned and stretched welcoming the sun and the new day, the shoe did drop.

Yamato began to feel something cushiony surrounding him from behind. He looked down at himself to find a white foamy substance beginning to form and spread around his body. He fought against it. He tried to use his wood style to rip it off, but it only seemed to get larger and stronger the more he used chakra.

In the end, he was completely restrained from his mouth down to his toes by the material. A deformed head appeared from the white substance and it began to laugh at him with its deformed mouth. Then a white spiral face with only one hole, where the left eye should have been, appeared above him.

"Hi Yamato!" The spiral faced man-thing said cheerfully. "I'm Tobi! Better known as Guruguru. We finally meet. I've been watching you for a long time. You are his most precious spawn, after all."

Guruguru squat down closer to Yamato, placing his cool white hand over Yamato's cheek. "This is like meeting my own beloved sibling for the very first time… awww so sweet."

Yamato's eyes grew bigger. And he attempted to speak, but with his mouth covered, only a bunch of grabbled sounds came out.

"Apart we are strong. But together… we will be awesomely powerful! Don't worry. This won't hurt… much." Guruguru continued to speak as if he were answering Yamato's many questions and concerns.

The spiraled faced creature opened its body like there was a zipper in the back of his head and lay down on top of Yamato, absorbing the spore and Yamato's body into itself.

* * *

'Are you ready?' Kurama asked, as Naruto lay with his arms behind his head, facing the ceiling of the cell. He had only slept for a couple of hours that night, using every moment to continue training. Syncing his and Kurama's chakra and abilities into a force to be reckoned with.

But now just before Madara was due to arrive, he lay back and immersed himself in his own thoughts.

Closing his eyes, Naruto imagined Hinata's face. Her large white eyes, her soft smooth skin, the gentle kindness that she always seemed to exude. Having lost so many who were dear to him, he had been determined to memorize every inch of her face. Sometimes he just stopped to watch her, particularly when they traveled on long missions and he was not able to sleep at night, knowing he was only a few feet away from her. Or in the village when she was walking by herself in the market or to a restaurant among the other girls. His stalking may have been creepy... if she was not fully aware of his presence. For he always noted a soft ruddy blush forming on her cheeks and a slight smile on her lips as she felt him nearby admiring her. Then he would smile too because she was happy. And later in the day just before it was time to return to their respective homes, he would find her again and pull her into a private corner so he could steal a good night kiss.

And in that moment while he lay in the cell alone, he felt her lips on his lips again. Her long black hair as it fell around them intertwined together. Her softness against his hard body.

He missed Hinata so immensely, it was starting to hurt. He had gotten so used to always feeling her near him (even when she was not present physically) that with the binding seal severed, it now felt like a part of his body was severed too. Why had things been so complicated... with his parents, with Jiraiya, with Sasuke, and now even with Hinata? If he could wish for anything, he would wish that those, who he loved, could just have some peace for once.

"Ummm…" He stared up at the one tiny window at the very top of the cell wall. A black crow had appeared there this morning, and it seemed to want to just flutter around at the opening. He wondered if its nest was nearby.

'I asked if you're ready?' Kurama growled again, annoyed with his jinchuuriki's sudden daydreaming. 'It should be close to noon, and I can feel both of those Uchihas nearby.'

"Ummm… yea." Naruto rolled over on his stomach. He sighed. "I'm ready."

As if on cue, the door to the cell opened. "I have something you really want, Naruto."

Naruto stood up and faced Madara, who stood within the doorway. He demanded, "Are you planning to let Hinata go and leave Sasuke alone, then?"

Madara shrugged and then stepped aside to let Naruto by. "Ok. So this may not be number one on your desired wish list… but it's close."

Naruto growled and then walked through the door. Madara followed Naruto into the dark corridor and continued. "Follow this hall to the very end and go through the double doors. Sasuke will be waiting for you there."

"And Hinata?!" Naruto stopped abruptly and did not budge. Holding back, he clinched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

"You have to defeat your friend first to get the girl, Naruto," Madara warned.

Naruto thought about turning on the man and striking him while he was off his guard. But then Kurama, who was thinking the same thing, said, 'Don't forget… that doesn't work.'

"I wouldn't try anything Naruto." Madara seemed to have the same thought too. "After all Hinata's life is completely in my hands."

Naruto swallowed his anger. Then he followed Madara's instructions and walked down the long hall. The hall curved up as though it was taking him above ground and then it finally ended in front of a large set of double doors.

Passing through the doors, he found himself in a large colliseum with an enormous and flat battle field at the center. About twenty feet above the battle field, seats rose up on all sides ending in large open archways at the top with no roof and only open sky.

"Naruto!" He heard Sasuke before he saw him appear from the shadow of a set of doors on the opposite side.

"Sasuke! We don't have to fight…" Naruto started, but Sasuke cut him off.

"You heard Madara. If you want Hinata, you will fight me now!" Sasuke was not in the mood to hear whatever plea Naruto was about to make.

Ever since he woke up after sleeping for almost two weeks, Sasuke had the disgusting feeling of being violated. He had been aware for awhile now, that Madara continued to administer the same injections, that Orochimaru gave him, without informing him. He had not complained because his powers were growing each time he woke up. But now he realized that the side effects were almost as powerful as the enhancements.

He was in an extreme amount of pain this last time. He was almost certain the next time he was actually going to die. He scowled up at the man in the mask, who now smugly sat on the top row to watch. He was also certain Madara knew he was going to die too. He continued to direct his anger at Naruto however. It did not matter how short his life was, just as long as he took Konohagakure to hell with him. "I won't hold back, Naruto! If you don't kill me, I will kill you. And just as I promised before, Hinata will die too. And so will the rest of your village!"

Sasuke watched as Naruto reluctantly took a deep breath. The blond ninja set his feet and Sasuke could feel the blue eyes burning into him even the hundreds of yards across the stadium. Then the two ninja charged at each other full speed, just as they had done multiple times before during this long rivalry. When they met at the center, they connected as their fists slammed into each other.

The ninja danced around each other as they exchanged blows. Sasuke anticipated and blocked the hand seals that Naruto attempted to make, locking Naruto's arm and forcing him down to his knees before kicking him in the chest. With the kick, Sasuke leveraged himself up into the air as fire exploded from his mouth.

Naruto fell back, dodging the fire balls and landing on the side of the lower wall of the coliseum. Sasuke threw a kunai with a wire attached, lodging it into the wall and pulling himself next to Naruto.

They exchanged blows again up the side of the wall until Naruto fell backwards off the surface. Finally able to make hand seals as he fell, he landed on his toes tossing the clones back up at Sasuke like bowling balls until one finally hit him, pummeling Sasuke with fists into the first row of seats.

As Sasuke got hold of his bearings, Naruto appeared above him again with two rasengan flying wildly in his opponent's direction. "RASENGAN!"

Barely dodging, Sasuke flipped out of the impact of the explosion and was met by another Naruto clone, exchanging blows.

All three Naruto clones were pivoting around Sasuke in a blurred exchange of fists and kicks. Sasuke's sharingan moved faster than the three clones bodies, so he was still able to anticipate each blow. He even saw through the fourth hidden clone, which suddenly appeared from behind Naruto, as Sasuke kicked the blond ninja up and away.

Sasuke activated his amaterasu, shaping the black flames into long sharp spikes that sliced out of the ground. The deadly flames chased Naruto, ripping his clones apart and only stopping as it appeared to skewer through his chest.

However as the smoke cleared, two long bright yellow arms appeared in the place of his own arms prying the black flames apart. Another two large chakra arms appeared from his back. The arms grew into enormous fists that stretched towards Sasuke ready to throttle him.

The ground exploded again as the fists tore into the concrete, forcing Sasuke back and extinguishing the flames. Sasuke landed on his feet, but jumped away again quickly, as the chakra fists followed him attempting to seize him like a little bug.

Sasuke dodged his pursuer before sending another large red flame from his mouth at Naruto, who was now fully in beast mode. Kurama's chakra arms batted the flame away like it was baseball.

Sasuke fell back into the first row of seats on the other side of the coliseum while activating his Susanoo, loading an arrow.

The arrow flew at Naruto striking the ground and causing another explosion, which forced Naruto back towards the opposite side. More arrows followed as Naruto dodged them.

In full Susanoo, the being was even larger than before and now carried two large swords. Sasuke flew across the coliseum as Naruto released all of Kurama's chakra, taking his full beast form for the very first time.

Kurama's nine tails whipped around him, clashing with the Susanoo's swords. One tail wrapped itself around an arm, yanked and sent one of the swords flying through the wall of the coliseum cracking it in half. The entire structure, groaned and sunk further into the ground.

The Susanoo and Kurama both reached back and aimed powerful punches at their opponents. The impact of the blows sent a sonic wave that blasted the rest of the stadium apart and into millions of pieces.

The Susanoo aimed another blow with its elbow at Kurama's neck, sending the tailed beast flying into the woods that grew outside of the hideout. Kurama barely kept his feet as he toppled half of the forest. He dodged more fire balls as he dove at the Susanoo again, knocking away another sword which rammed its way into a nearby mountain.

Kurama's tails swiped at the Susanoo's head, knocking it down before wrapping around a leg and swinging. Kurama tossed the enormous being into the other side of the forest, toppling another few miles of trees. Then the tailed beast crouched and leapt the miles between them, landing on top of the Susanoo and pummeling it further into the ground.

Kurama opened his mouth wide spewing pure dense chakra, which was so powerful that it made a high pitched sound as it formed itself into a bijuu ball.

The nine tails reached his head back, ready to take a kill strike, but then stopped.

"Hesitating will get you killed…" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his opponent. He had expected Naruto's weakness to be his inability to do what it took to finish this fight, but there was something else wrong.

A strange squawking sound came from nowhere, as a huge flock of crows descended from the sky, obscuring Kurama's enormous glowing chakra form and ripping the scene in front of Sasuke apart. He thought to himself, 'How is this even possible?'

Now Sasuke was standing in the fully intact coliseum again, having just entered through the door to meet Naruto. Itachi appeared from the flock of crows, still obscured by them from his waist down. Sasuke frowned. He had been in a genjutsu this entire time?

"Only a second will pass in real time, but it will be enough for Madara to sense my jutsu." Itachi warned his brother. "Madara is powerful... and I don't know everything about him. So it is very likely he will kill me before I get another chance to talk to you."

"How are you alive? I saw you die!" Sasuke demanded. Not caring about Madara or Naruto or anyone else in that moment. He took a step forward not certain if this was trick. But who else had this power? Who else could put him in a genjutsu for that long when only a second had past? No one other then his older brother.

"My subordinate, Masuku, took me from the rubble and saved me after you passed out from your own wounds." Itachi explained. Sasuke could feel truth in the words. He was still in shock, but somehow, he knew what Itachi said was sincere. "But before she left you, she transplanted my eyes into you, and in exchange, I have your eyes… But I've gone blind, which is why I have to use my genjutsu from a hiding place. But that doesn't matter. I've passed my eyes to you… so you don't need a tailed beast now. They are yours forever."

"Why would you do that?" Sasuke cried, stepping forward again. Then he paused. "Is it true? What Madara and Danzo said about you? Is it true what I remember about you?"

He looked at the blur that was his older brother. "Lately, I've begun to recall memories of a kind and gentle brother… an older brother who I adulated and adored."

Itachi did not respond, but Sasuke continued, "here… in this place, I remember you even clearer. I understand you. And I can feel you are that brother."

Then pausing, Sasuke withdrew his emotions into himself and scowled. "But this changes nothing. I hate the hidden leaf even more now for how much pain they have caused you.

I know what you want me to do… how you want me to be. You're MY big brother so I know you are going to disapprove. But it's because you are my brother that no matter what you say, you are not going to stop me! Even if you protect Naruto, and Hinata and all the rest of the village now, I will still destroy them all some day."

"If you attempt to fight Naruto now, you will lose. Not just because he is stronger than you, but also because I have placed a powerful genjutsu on him that won't allow you to attack him. It's Shisui's kotoamatsukami. You're thoughts will be manipulated without you even realizing it. The fight will end before begins." Itachi stated abruptly. "So stopping this fight is not why I appeared to you now. I came to give you something."

Itachi moved from the flock of crows taking his full form and walking to Sasuke. He raised his hand, pointed his finger, and tapped him on the forehead.

Sasuke's head fell back and he descended into a memory. Itachi's memories…

* * *

Shisui looked down into the deep ravine. His right eyesocket bled profusely after his eye was forcefully removed. "I've tried, but it seems we can't prevent the coup. If civil war erupts in the village, we will be vulnerable to other hidden villages. I'm certain it will be the end of the leaf."

"Danzo will make a mess of things. He plans to do it his way no matter what… even if it means destroying the leaf and its people first."

He held out his left eye to Itachi. "You are the only one I trust. Protect the eye, the village, and the Uchiha name. Keep the girl out of Danzo's hands."

Itachi took the eye and quietly nodded. Then Shisui smiled, blind and both eye sockets bleeding. "You are my best friend Itachi… you are more than my cousin. You are my little brother."

"Remember this moment for me, Itachi. It is the most important moment of my life." Those were Shisui's last words as he fell back off of the cliff into ravine.

Sasuke fell again into the blackness of another memory…

* * *

"We can't wait any longer. If they are going to start a revolution and use it to usurp our power, we have no choice but to judge the Uchiha Clan as traitors." Koharu stated to the room.

The three elders of the council and Lord Third sat in front of Itachi as he knelt on the ground in respect.

"No, Koharu. We shouldn't rush this judgement. The Uchiha Clan are our comrades." Though the other three elders seemed determined to end the Uchiha clan as soon as possible, Lord Third appeared deeply disturbed by the conversation.

"That may be but they are the ones who have turned against us." Danzo narrowed his eyes at Itachi. "We must do whatever it takes to prevent mayhem. That includes exterminating the children as well."

Itachi's face did not change though his heart started to beat faster, as he listened to the exchange between the elders. He attempted to relax himself. Who knew what justus, Danzo had up his sleeve? He might be able to hear his quickening pulse.

Hiruzen looked scathingly at Danzo. "Don't say such things in front of Itachi! Killing children! This is what we've come to?"

Sighing, Lord Third turned from Danzo, deciding to continue more diplomatically. "A war against the Uchiha clan will not be an easy task. The clan is only comparable to the Hyuga Clan these days. They are arguably the largest recognized clan in the village. We'll need an exhaustive strategy. This will take time."

"We have no time!" Danzo argued. "We need to strike preemptively before they have a chance to make their first move. We the foundation should join forces with your black ops and launch a surprised attack from behind. We'll end this fast."

Hiruzen shook his head. "As I've said, the Uchiha are our comrades. They have been here since the village was founded. I think they deserve the respect of words before violence."

"I will come up with a strategy." Lord Third looked at Itachi now. "I won't need long… just buy me some time Itachi… as much as you can."

Sasuke fell back into another memory…

* * *

Itachi stood with Danzo at night, in front of one of the village shrines.

"I know what Lord Third said. But you must realize that in the end, as the hokage, Hiruzen will have to choose the village over your clan." Danzo stated. "Once the coup happens, the Uchiha will get no reprieve. They will be annihilated. Including your innocent brother, who knows nothing."

"However, there is a way to spare your brother prior to any revolt." Danzo paused and inspected Itachi's face. But Itachi was already very skilled at keeping his emotions deep inside himself and invisible to the world. So Danzo continued on, after failing to find a reaction.

"Of course, if the Uchiha clan dies at the hands of leaf shinobi, your brother will be a liability. He will almost certainly grow up to hate the village and become an enemy to konoha just like his clan." Danzo paused again for effect. "In the end he will have to die too."

"Is that a threat?" Itachi's heart began to flutter in his chest again. But he slowed his breathing and his thoughts, pulling his pulse down too.

"No threat." Danzo held up his hand in surrender. "I'm just giving you a choice. Either you join the coup and die with your clan. Or side with leaf and save your little brother before the revolt begins. You are the only one who can handle this mission. You are the only one who they will never see coming."

Feeling something akin to empathy, Danzo sighed, lowering his eyes. "Itachi I know this mission will bring you the worst pain imaginable. But in exchange, your little brother's life will be spared and he will be able to live here in the village as a leaf shinobi."

Danzo met Itachi's eyes again, and this time, his black eyes were filled with respect. "I know you care about the village as much as I do. Will you accept the mission?"

Sasuke fell back into another memory…

* * *

Itachi stood in the darkness of the woods with the masked man. "You've been following me ever since Shisui killed himself and my sharingan changed. You are able to bypass the village's security even though you are a stranger. I know you are an Uchiha."

"Yes." Madara replied. "I am an Uchiha. And you are the first to have achieved such powers… in a long long time. It interests me. I can help you learn about them."

Itachi examined the man in front of him with the wild hair and the strange white and black mask. "Your interest has made me curious about you in return. And now I know who you are. I've spent time looking into how you've lived your life and your ideologies. If you really are who I believe you are, this will be a mission that you accept."

"And that would be?" Madara asked, suspiciously.

"We will exact revenge on the Uchiha Clan…" Itachi replied. "But…"

"Awww, there's always a but."

"But in exchange, you won't harm the leaf village and you will spare my little brother, Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke fell back into another memory…

* * *

"Promise me, you will always take care of Sasuke." Fugaku said to his son as Itachi stood behind his parents, holding his sword in shaky hands.

"I will." Itachi sobbed, his head had fallen forward. His body raked with pain.

"Do not fear it. This is the path you have chosen. Compared to yours… our pain will be over in an instant." Fugaku crossed his hands over his lap. "Our philosophies may differ, Itachi, but I'm still very proud of you. You are truly a kind and selfless child. This is where your power will come from… It is a strength that rivals no other. Remember that."

* * *

Sasuke found himself standing in front of Itachi again. Itachi now grasp Sasuke's head fully, placing Sasuke's forehead against his forehead.

"I've lied to you for far too long, little brother. And as a result I have failed you. I should have trusted you from the beginning. If you were given the chance, you would have been able to change our fates for the better. So now, I'm coming to you to correct my mistake by giving you the truth. No more tricks. No more manipulation." Itachi explained. "I don't expect you to forgive me for my lies. I just need you to know that I believe in you, and I will always love you… no matter what."

* * *

"Sasuke! We don't have to fight…" Naruto started, but Sasuke cut him off.

"You heard Madara. If you want Hinata, you will fight me now!"

Madara felt a shift in the area surrounding the large coliseum. It was just for a second, but it was long enough that he was certain that he knew exactly what had happened. "ITACHI!"

Roaring the name of the other Uchiha brother, Madara hopped to his feet and searched the surrounding area. He finally caught sight of the ninja. A pale faced young man with long shaggy black hair stood in the shadows of one of the entrance tunnels into the seating area on the other side. He was not alone, however, there was another shinobi nearby him but this one was obscured by the darkness.

Sasuke and Naruto watched as Madara flew across the coliseum towards Itachi's position.

Locking on to his new enemy, Sasuke activated his Susanoo, flying across to Itachi and enveloping him in the large being before Madara could make it to the other side. He landed back in the center of the battle field and loaded an arrow. Madara landed on the front row and turned to stare daggers at Sasuke. "SASUKE! You dare to defy me now?!"

"You won't touch my brother." Sasuke replied firmly, aiming his weapon at the masked man.

Madara roared. And his mask cracked down the middle.

* * *

Hinata sat next to Obito by the mirrored lake. More trays of food were brought by Zetsu, but the creature appeared to not be able to see Obito. Hinata highly doubted that he would let the presence of the true owner of Madara's body go if he did.

As time passed, Obito's presence became stronger. As he told Hinata his tragic tale, he brought tears to her eyes, and he felt that she felt all of his pain. And even though they were essentially strangers, with her sharp eyes, she saw all the way inside of him into his broken heart. This comforted him and began to slowly heal what Madara had broken.

At their first encounter, Hinata could only see him with her byakugan but as time passed, she began to be able to touch him without her hand passing through. Eventually, he became visible to her normal sight.

"I think you may need to stay hidden when Zetsu appears now." Hinata stated placing her hand on the cool smooth surface of the mirror.

"I know Zetsu well. He's not a fighter." Obito replied splitting one of the rolls in half and taking a bite. Though he had no need for normal human bodily functions anymore, he still enjoyed the feeling of food in his mouth. He tasted the food for her now to make sure there was nothing in it. So far they had not mixed in any more sedatives.

"Since you are getting stronger..." Hinata started softly. She had been thinking about this for awhile. Even though she enjoyed Obito's presence, the more she learned about him, the more he reminded her of Naruto. And all of her thoughts circled right back around to how she was going to get out of the kamui and back to him.

After Obito told her his story and in particular the part where he had been able to take his body back from Madara for a few seconds to warn Rin, she wondered if he might be able to do that again. "Do you think you might be able to find a way back? Even for just a second. Particularly since Madara does not suspect that you have woken up yet."

Obito nodded. "I was thinking about that too. Madara is a lot older and stronger, but this is my body... the connection has to be strong enough. Don't you think?"

Hinata sat up on her knees and smiled at him excitedly. "I know you can do this, Obito, sir!"

Smiling brightly back at her, Obito felt as if he was eleven years old again. He felt he could do and be anything. He gave her two thumbs up just as Rin had always done.

* * *

Sakura looked over the side of one of Sai's birds at the vast ocean of sparkling blue water beneath them. They were just off the coast of the Land of Lightning, having traveled from the allied forces' headquarters at the southern most tip of the land and further south, out across the sea. The wind blew her hair wildly in her face as they glided with the strong southern wind. She followed just behind and to the right of Sai and Karin, who rode on the lead bird, but this mission, she was the one, who led the sealing team.

Lady Tsunade had placed her in charge of finding, interrogating, and sealing away whatever was left of Orochimaru.

Sakura took this mission personally. Because of everyone to blame for Sasuke's detour to the dark side, Sakura placed the most blame on Orochimaru. Sakura had never subscribed to the idea of vengeance, particularly not after having to endure watching Sasuke partake in his own endless vendetta. But if she was to take revenge, this would be it.

So far the task had gone off without a hitch. Karin was surprisingly loose lipped with any information that she thought might hurt her ex-boss or her ex-team, Taka.

After her latest tragic encounter with Sasuke, Karin devoted herself to exacting revenge on her old crush and quickly transferred most of her obsessive affections to a new crush. This new crush (much to Sakura's bewilderment) was Sai. During the time he gathered intel from her with the help of Ino, Karin apparently developed warm affections for him. Even odder than Karin's new crush was that her attention to Sai was bothering Ino, who also seemed to have developed an odd attachment to Sakura's teammate.

Of course, Sai was completely oblivious to his admirers, though he was much nicer about it than Sasuke had ever been. Sakura was the only one who was weirded out by the entire situation. She had already broken up two fights on this mission. The first one being who was going to sit behind Sai on his bird.

Karin won that fight since they needed her to track Orochimaru. Ino's skills weren't needed until they actually found him, so she flew behind and to the left, scowling at the back of Karin's head the entire time.

Ikko Yamanaka was the fourth member of the sealing team as well as Ino's backup for intel gathering. And they were accompanied by the tsuchikage, his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, and his subordinate, Akatsuchi.

Two days earlier...

Sakura, Sai, Ino, and Ikko all stood in front of Lady Tsunade in her tent.

"The jutsu needed to release and seal Orochimaru's chakra is going to require all four of you. It's a kinjutsu so I'm trusting that this will be kept between the five of us. The jutsu was created originally for this purpose... to seal away a dead sage who had abused their power. But as you know, it can also be used to grant a dead sage a new living body, so eventually the jutsu was classified as forbidden. Orochimaru's old body was already breaking down before he died, so I'm certain he has found some new poor and pathetic soul to give over their body for his use. However... only a blood related host is able to house a sage's chakra for any extended period of time. Orochimaru was not part of an organized clan. He had no siblings or extended family and his parents died long ago. He'll be weakened by having to use a none related host."

"That should be enough to capture him, get the intel, and seal him away quickly."

"This is important enough that the third tsuchikage and his subordinates have agreed to accompany you and help capture the sannin." Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her ninja fiercely. "Be careful... there are rumors that my old teammate may be using that pesky reanimation jutsu again. The one thing we don't want to happen is for him to form any sort of alliance with Madara again."

Presently...

"I sense Orochimaru's chakra up ahead." Karin said, wrapping her arms tighter around Sai's torso and smiling dazedly. "But it's not just him..."

Sakura frowned. "What do you mean?"

"That other jinchuuriki is nearby... you know, the nutty one that's always rapping. And there are three more ninja with him... and I sense a few other odd presences. None are human chakra though."

"Orochimaru must be after the eight tails." The tsuchikage surmised, speeding up his flight.

Soon some shapes appeared in front of them. First, a large turtle shaped island that was moving like it was swimming in the ocean. Second, a large purple snake who was attempting to coil its way around the island, and lastly, a clay bird flying above with a familiar blond ninja standing on it.

"Deidara!" Onoki growled. "Of all the stinking ninja for Orochimaru to reanimate!"

* * *

Shikamaru stood next to Gaara, who was named Regimental Commander and commander of the fourth division made up of long range fighters. Shikamaru was his proxy for the fourth division. They stood together at the edge of an enormous cliff that overlooked a valley containing hundreds of thousands of zetsu, extending all the way back to the visible horizon.

After gathering at their designated headquarters in the Land of Lightning, the forces traveled south through the Land of Hotwater and into the Land of Fire. They marched south without any signs of an enemy and made it as far as the isthmus which led to the southern most tip, where few shinobi traveled and where Madara's hideout was rumored to reside. The isthmus was narrow and it was the only strip of land that connected the northern portion of the Land of Fire to the southern portion that bordered the Land of Tea.

Most chose to sail across the western bay from the southern coast of the main portion of the Land of Fire into the Land of Tea. As opposed to crossing the treacherous land in the south, full of mountains, deep ravines, and tangled coniferous forests. Besides the myths that surrounded the area of the forest, where Kurama use to rule, and the spot, which was supposedly the sage of sixth path's final resting place, there was no reason to wander into this region. It was the perfect place for an infamous shinobi like Madara to hide.

Their forces had spent the last day clearing white zetsu for miles. Yet more of the white creatures appeared to be endlessly streaming north from the direction of the coordinates that Itachi and Kakashi sent back for Madara's location. They had made an attempt to maneuver some of their units around the massive army while the others engaged, but the enemy seemed to be expecting this and was clogging up most of the main bridges, tunnels, mountain passes and valleys through the isthmus.

"This is all a distraction. A way to wear down our forces before we get to the real fight." Shikamaru stated. They figured out early on that if the creatures got too close they could syphon off a shinobi's chakra. So they had quickly regrouped, using only the long range fighters to plow through the bodies as quickly as possible. In order to save the close and mid range fighters in the first, second, and third divisions as well as the special skills fighters in the fifth division for whatever lay beyond. But the fourth division was starting to wear out and slow down. And they were not close to done yet.

"At least Kakashi and Itachi made it through." Gaara stated optimistically as his sand scooped up another mass of zetsu, folded in on itself, and crushed the bodies between a sand sandwich.

"Excuse me, sirs." A young konoha ninja appeared to Shikamaru's side. "We just received intel from headquarters. And we have a problem."

"This is becoming a real drag." Shikamaru sighed, he could not imagine what other problem could have possibly occurred.

"The zetsu are no longer just blocking our way." The ninja replied carefully. "Now they are changing into the form of allied ninja and infiltrating the first, second, and third regimens."

Shikamaru looked at Gaara. "Well that's a problem. Ao's unit of sensory ninja?"

"Supreme commander A has already sent them in." The ninja replied. "But the creatures are able to change their chakra signatures at will to evade detection. It's only after they've ambushed us that we are able to distinguish them from our own shinobi. It's causing significant havoc in the ranks."

"These things are like a bad virus." Gaara sighed. "Send a message ahead to Inoichi and Shikaku at headquarters to start strategizing."

Gaara turned to Shikamaru. "I am returning to HQ. Please take over here."

Shikamaru nodded in agreement. The way things were going, they needed all the long range fighters they could get and one of their most powerful shinobi was still missing. Shikamaru spoke to the young ninja before he left. "And after you deliver that message, make it a top priority to locate Captain Yamato... no one has seen him since before we left the village."

* * *

Within the old Akatsuki hideout, Guruguru sat on top of the Gedo statue as it leaned forward, sunken halfway in and out of the ground beneath them. The zetsu clones poured out from underneath the roots of Madara's flowering tree above, flowing like a fountain of white bodies from the underground cavern into the forest.

"Two hundred thousand and eighty two… two hundred thousand and eighty three... two hundred thousand eighty... Oh, darn! I've lost count again." Guruguru swung his legs out and chuckled to himself. He looked over at Sabui, who sat hunched on one of the statue's fingers and stared back at the creature suspiciously.

"Who are you again?" Sabui asked with a scowl.

"I'm Tobi! Better known as Guruguru." The strange creature replied. "We'll be up for battle soon... but first you need to raise the rest of this statue. Master's orders after all!"

"How the hell am I supposed to that?" Sabui growled. Where was Sasuke anyway? If they were going to fight this so called war, one would think Madara would send in their fiercest fighters. What kind of strategy was this? Sending these white Zetsu things, and then as back up, this spiral faced creature, who looked as useless as Zetsu... and himself?

"Just wait! You will be complete soon too. Just like me!" Guruguru giggled thrusting a thumb at his chest gleefully.

Sabui grumbled to himself about having to deal with Madara and his strange creatures, just as something black appeared from the shadows. Sabui turned in surprise as a huge black blob threw itself at him, covering his body.

He struggled, but it attached itself to the black parasite on the left side of his face and began to merge with the left side of his body. He collapsed back as he felt the life sucked out of him.

A deep voice entered his head. "Don't struggle… it will only make this worse."

Sabui thought, am I going to die?

"You aren't dying kid!" The creature spoke again firmly. "Soon you will be stronger than you have ever imagined."

After coating Sabui's body, the black parasite released the chakra that it had been storing for a decade and a half back into the teenager's body, causing his emaciated form to fill out into a youthful healthy body. An eye appeared from the black material shifting to the position of the left eye socket.

Feeling the sudden surge of strength, Sabui sat up, and for the first time in his life, he had the use of both of his eyes. He looked around, finally locking onto the spiral faced creature named Guruguru.

Guruguru laughed his odd laugh and pointed to the pool of water that the zetsus trudged through. "Quick! Go see for yourself!"

Sabui stood up, now strong enough to reach his full height without crouching. Long straight dark brown hair flowed down the right side of his body past his shoulders. He hopped down off the statue and looked in surface of the water. He almost cried at who he saw looking back at him.

The torch light was only so bright in the underground cavern, but he could clearly see half a healthy and handsome face staring back at him with his brilliant white eye. His usually slack and swallow skin was now taut and a smooth peachy hue. The right half of his body was lean and muscular. The left side was covered with from head to toe with the black creature and a new spiraled purple eye.

Speechless, he placed his hand over the right side of his face. Even with zetsu attached to his left half, Sabui could not believe that the boy in the reflection was him. He thought, _so this is Neji Hyuga?_ This is the person, who he was supposed to be. He could see the resemblance to both his grandfather, Hiro, and his uncle, Hiashi, who had been his father's identical twin. One tear slid down the right side of face from his eye and dropped into the pool of water.

"Now we will summon the rest of the statue from the moon." Black zetsu said to Sabui.

* * *

Kakashi lay his head back against the wall as he squat hidden in the shadows of the coliseum entrance tunnel. He watched quietly as Sasuke picked up Itachi in his Susanoo to protect him.

It seemed Itachi's plan to get Sasuke to change sides had worked. At least for now.

He opened his one visible eye as he felt another presence in the hallway. Sliding a kunai into his palm, he watched as a shadow took shape from the wall. It was petite. A woman's shape. He took a deep breath and closed his eye again. He had a pretty good idea who the silhouette belonged to.

He pivoted and slid to the left just barely dodging two chakra chains as they pierced into the wall behind him, cracking and ripping out the rock. She melted back into the shadows.

"Kakashi." A woman's voice called to him. It sounded light and airy but there was a sinister under tone as well. "Don't hide from me. Let me kill you."

"Masuku?" Kakashi replied as he uncovered his sharingan. "Itachi is outside. We came here to help you."

"Itachi?" Masuku asked, curiously. Then she laughed. "Who is Itachi? Lord Madara says I should kill you if you show up... you are a dangerous shinobi, Kakashi Hatake. So that is what I plan to do."

Another set of chains came at him, slicing through the air like razor blades. He dodged this next set. Running up the wall to hoist himself off the ground, he tossed the kunai attached to a wire into the opposite wall and approximate to Masuku. Using the momentum of his body, he swung around her. The wire cut through the set of chains, but was soon severed by the next set of chain as the first set quickly grew back.

Kakashi spun midair as he passed her, kicking Masuku in the back and sending her flying forward before sliding into a crouched stance further down the tunnel.

As Masuku shook the dizziness from her head and stood up, more chains shot from her back at him, filling the tunnel.

Kakashi attempted to dodge again, but there were too many chains this time. He found himself trapped as the chains wrapped around his neck, his arms, and his legs. Kakashi flipped another kunai into his hand and tore through a nearby chain. The chain broke, but quickly reformed, restraining him again. Masuku roughly drug him on his stomach across the hard ground towards her. But seconds later, Kakashi's clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Body replacement technique.

The real Kakashi dropped from the top of the tunnel on to the ground as the tunnel entrance exploded and collapsed, causing Masuku to fly forward into Kakashi and pushing them both out into the open air outside the coliseum. The man in the mask suddenly appeared from the rubble. But now his mask had split and the right half was gone. Kakashi recognized the face underneath, though it was a lot older than the last time he saw it.

"Kakashi?" Obito asked, curiously. He looked at the woman standing nearby and cleared his throat, commanding, "Back off!"

Confused, Masuku hesitated for a second before withdrawing her chains and moving away back into the shadows of the woods.

"Obito?" Kakashi blinked, attempting to sort out the trick.

Hinata appeared at Obito's side now, inspecting Kakashi. "Are you ok Kakashi sensei? Where is Naruto?"

Now completely baffled, Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and replied. "He and Sasuke and Itachi are still in the coliseum. How did you get here? Where have you been, Hinata?"

Hinata looked over at Obito gratefully. "It was Obito. He was able to take his body back from Madara long enough to transport me out of the kamui."

"We will figure out how to help you." Hinata promised him placing a hand on his arm, kindly. "We will get your body back."

"Never mind that now..." Obito warned Hinata and Kakashi. "I can only fight him off for so long. Madara's power is vast now compared to the last time that I controlled my body... you both need to go before he comes back."

As Hinata nodded in agreement, a calling seal opened up nearby. "Come on."

She ran to Kakashi and held onto him as they both jumped through the opening and disappeared.


	27. The Ultimate Tag Team

Sorry took awhile to finish next part since I don't tend to write in a linear manor, but updating several chapters at once...

* * *

The Ultimate Tag Team

Naruto felt Hinata as soon as Obito transported her out of the kamui. He was so relieved, he completely disregarded the fact that Madara just suddenly stumbled out of the coliseum into the dark entranceway without provocation.

Sasuke's Susanoo let go of the arrow, letting it fly into the entrance tunnel after Madara. The rows of seats surrounding the tunnel collapsed in on it, sealing the opening behind Madara.

Not long after, Hinata and Kakashi appeared from the calling seal that Naruto sent for her. As soon as he saw her, Naruto grabbed her into his arms. Excited, he touched the top of her head, and then her face and her neck and her arms to make sure she was real. Hinata smiled, as he looked like a little kid sorting through a bag of recently rediscovered old toys. Finally confirming her presence, Naruto allowed Hinata to relax into him. Her head fell against his chest. Her ear set exactly over his heart. She closed her eyes and listened for the familiar steady rhythm, thu-thump.

Impatient again, Naruto whispered, "I need to kiss you", before lifting her face towards his face, pulling her by the waist tighter to him. His blue eyes sparkled down at her as he leaned forward.

"I know. Me too." Hinata whispered back as their noses pressed together. "I felt… so…"

"Alone." Naruto finished, before kissing her lips. Her lips tasted even better than he remembered.

"I hate to break up this warm reunion. But what was that back there?" Kakashi asked Hinata, moving between the two lovers and the collapsed tunnel behind which Madara stood.

"That was the real Obito." Hinata explained, softly. "Madara stole his body not long after you and Rin thought he was killed years ago. He was there that night. He witnessed Rin's horrible death... it broke him. He was lost until I found him again in the kamui. He was even able to take his body back… though it will only last for so long. Madara will return soon... and I don't think he will be happy."

"That's an understatement." Kakashi looked over his shoulder at Hinata. "That would be the weakness of an unworthy sage taking another living body. The original owner of the body could attempt to take his or her body back at any time. Though Madara is a very powerful shinobi and he must have been using Obito's body for almost two decades… How did Obito manage to wake up?"

He asked this question of himself. He was already shocked to find out that Naruto had managed to not only suppress but fully control the nine tailed beast without the help of the binding seal. And now he was amazed at what Hinata had just managed to pull off. Had her presence in that dimension really served to revive Obito's consciousness?

Then he had another disturbing thought.

"And Masuku is with Madara now too." Kakashi grumbled, looking hesitantly at Naruto. How was he going to react that bit of news? Once Naruto realized she had his mother's face?

Naruto looked back at Kakashi, surprised. "You mean, Hinata's sensei?"

"About that… there is more to the story…" Kakashi started, but he did not get a chance to finish. A large white sword blade blasted through the side of the stadium where Madara disappeared.

Sasuke's Susanoo let another arrow fly, blasting more of the wall into rubble and reburying the sword. It did not stay buried for long, as the enormous sword even dwarfed Sasuke's Susanoo. The being that wielded it, was tearing its way back into the coliseum.

"What the hell is that?!" Naruto yelled. Kurama spoke in his mind. 'That is Madara.'

The two heads of the white Susanoo finally appeared through the rubble with Madara in tow. The mask was completely gone from his face now, but this face was different. Cold and inhuman. Madara had taken the body back. The power that wafted off of the elder Uchiha and his Susanoo felt like ice, freezing the room. It was only matched by the heat that the radiated off of Naruto as he switched to beast mode. Madara roared, "NEITHER OF YOU HAS WON THE GIRL BACK!"

As Naruto shifted modes, he moved some of the tailed beast's chakra through the binding seal. It encased Hinata protectively inside it, in order to block Madara's kamui from taking her back. Then he slapped Kakashi on the back transferring the nine tails chakra to him as well. Kakashi gave Naruto a look, not sure what he was up to.

'I see you've picked up my transfer technique quite quickly, Naruto.' Kurama observed proudly. 'Probably because you've gotten so much practice using the binding seal.'

Hinata looked around herself in shock. "This is Kurama's chakra."

"Oh yeah! Kurama and I are old pals now!" Naruto explained happily.

Kurama sniffed. 'I wouldn't go that far. You'll make an adequate partner...'

"Awww, give it up Kurama! You love me now." Naruto smiled brightly at Hinata. "And he missed you as much as I did, ya know."

"I missed both of you so very much, too." Hinata blushed lightly.

'Kid. This is battle. Stay focued.' Kurama growled, though his tone lightened a bit. 'You're going to have to take beast form for this fight. But we've never done this, so we won't fully be in sync yet... That will take awhile. I wouldn't take any unnecessary risks.'

Sasuke's Susanoo switched from the bow to its new set of swords, as he charged at the white Susanoo in the rubble.

Madara's Susanoo tore itself all the way out of the rubble and rammed its shoulder into Sasuke's Susanoo, sending the smaller being flying out of the coliseum. The larger Susanoo squat and jumped miles into the air, landing feet first ontop of the smaller Susanoo's chest as it descended on its back to the ground. The impact blasted an enormous crater into the middle of the forest as Madara's Susanoo raised one of its sword and stabbed through the center of Sasuke's Susanoo's chest.

The being that protected them dispersed, as both Sasuke and Itachi were released and tumbled to the ground. Madara deactivated his own Susanoo and crossed the distance between them.

Itachi listened for Madara's oncoming foot steps in order to pick up the location of his opponent. He moved his finger just slightly in Madara's direction, but the older Uchiha saw the intention and transported himself from that spot to over top of Sasuke, avoiding the genjutsu.

Sasuke had already lost consciousness even before his Susanoo hit the ground. The inexhaustible power generated by his body was now overwhelming him, causing a full blown seizure. His body writhed on the ground, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Madara pulled a kunai from his sleeve, pressed Sasuke into the ground with one hand, and stabbed the weapon deep into Sasuke's chest. "Let's speed this up shall we."

Now Itachi felt a severe pain hit his own eyes. Madara stood up and waited as the two brothers both seized on the ground. Then he grabbed an unconscious Itachi and slung him over his shoulder, before transporting to the location of the Gedo statue.

* * *

Naruto activated his full beast state as he watched Madara toss Sasuke's Susanoo out of the coliseum. As he turned to leap after the white Susanoo, Kurama found himself restrained by several chakra chains.

The chains came up out of the ground in front of the enormous nine tailed fox, crisscrossed over top and then slammed Kurama down into the ground.

Kurama recognized these restraints. The last time he was free and then resealed, he had been restrained this exact same way. He roared, "NOOO!"

He used his tails to slash at his prison, but more chains wrapped themselves around the beast, binding his neck, arms and tails. Naruto and the tailed beast were not yet in sync. 'You're going to have to take out the girl!' Kurama instructed.

"What is this?!" Naruto made hand seals creating four clones that surrounded Masuku from the back. The four clones charged at her, but then they hesitated, confused when they came upon her long red hair and her face. "Mom?"

On the right, a fifth clone appeared from behind the other Narutos with a tailed beast chakra rasengan in hand. At the same time, Kakashi appeared from the left with an augmented version of his chidori and surrounded in Kurama's chakra.

"WAIT!" The four clones covered Masuku protectively. Even more clones were created, piling on top of her to take the powerful impact of both the tailed beast ball and the augmented chidori, before exploding into a mass of smoke.

'That is NOT your mother!' Kurama growled at Naruto.

"Naruto, don't fall for it! THAT is Masuku!" Kakashi yelled up at him. "She's a clone, and she is now controlled by Madara!"

Naruto continued to hesitate as Masuku's chains started to pull themselves tighter, sealing to Kurama's chakra. Then he felt two things. First, Sasuke's pain as he lay bleeding on the ground just miles away. Second, an enormous wave of fear and death rippled from the north where the allied forces battled Madara's subordinates.

Two clones appeared above Masuku carrying the rasenshuriken. He just missed her and hit the ground where her chains entered and grounded themselves by tunneling through to restrain the enormous tailed beast from the infront. The impact of the blow exploded the ground, forcefully knocking her back into a nearby wall. She released her chains.

Deactivating his beast form, Naruto scooped up Hinata without hesitation and ran in the direction of Sasuke. But Kakashi grabbed Naruto's shoulder, stopping him. "I'll take care of Sasuke. Head north towards our forces now!"

Naruto paused but the nodded in agreement before changing his direction. "But I'm leaving a clone to help."

* * *

Sakura stood on Sai's bird and made several hand seals before placing her palm down on the back of the bird, summoning Katsuyu. The slug dropped to the island, attaching itself to the back of the snake. The snake swiped his head back to use its long fangs against the animal now attached to him, but Katsuyu dissolved completely becoming a sticky puddle over the reptile's scales.

Sakura made more hand seals as the woods on turtle island came alive on her command. The trees grew long roots and sprouted tree branches that flowered and wrapped around Manda, constricting the enormous purple snake that attacked the island. She concentrated hard with her eyes closed as she flew above the island and the image of the living forest. The snake thrashed about in fear, falling further into the genjutsu.

She had never used the demonic illusion: tree binding technique, on such a large scale and without connecting to her victim physically and instead through her summoning animal. The snake was a snake not a human, but it was still a very powerful snake and Sakura could feel herself losing control of the illusion quickly.

But being a snake, as well as not completely loyal to its summoner, Manda was not at all inclined to continue to pursue this prey if it meant a real fight. So the large purple snake hissed angrily up at the birds above, before releasing the turtle and dropping off into the water.

"Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and I will handle Deidara. You leaf ninja go after Orochimaru." Onoki instructed glaring hard at the reanimated blond criminal, who had been nothing but a sore in his side ever since Deidara was a young child.

"Yes, sir!" Sakura replied as she directed the others to fly down to the surface of turtle island. Feeling only slightly weaker from the enormous amount of chakra that she just used to create the demonic illusion on such a large scale, she actively released enough chakra from her reserve seal to replenish what had been used. After three years, she finally completed the byakugou right after hunting down Sasuke in the Land of Iron. Just like Lady Tsunade, her byakugou slowly replenished chakra to ensure she could continual use her techniques without growing over fatigued. But unlike Tsunade, who had only been able to link her healing techniques to Katsuyu through the seal, Sakura had begun to use her as a medium for her other techniques.

Landing in the middle of the island forest, Sakura looked to Karin. "Where is he, then?"

"He's inside the island..."

"What do you mean? Inside the island?" Ino demanded.

Karin shrugged. "Apparently, this island is actually a live turtle with a shell. There are tunnels that lead from the surface of the island inside of the shell. And there are several people inside it now, including two leaf ninja and two cloud ninja... one being the jinchuuriki. And now, Orochimaru just entered too."

"Well let's go." Sakura stood up. "Show us the way."

* * *

"Big bro Deidara, do you realize that you're dead and being manipulated by Orochimaru?" Kurotsuchi yelled across the sky as the four earth ninja stood, or rather flew, in a stand off. "You hate Orochimaru... why are you listening to him?"

Deidara looked back at his old comrade. Then he turned and narrowed his eyes at Onoki. He might dislike Orochimaru, but he hated that old geezer, Onoki, with every fiber of his being. " Manipulation my ass! I'm fighting this demented old quack all on my own!"

"Why don't I just use my particle style and blast him to bits? There was no reasoning with him in life... do we really think we're going to get anywhere in death?!" Onoki complained, clapping his hands together to begin to activate his jutsu. A cone shaped force grew between his palms. The concentrated power made a high pitching screech that signaled the arrival of death.

"That crazy old geezer is really about to use particle style first?!" Deidara's black eyes popped open wide as he maneuvered his clay bird down closer to the island and further away from his enemy.

"No! Gramps!" Kurotsuchi warned. "You'll blast the island to bits if you unleash that here!"

Akatsuchi grabbed the old man's arms and pulled them apart to stop the jutsu. "What? Oh alright..."

Deidara swooped to the right, creating a detonating clay bird and tossing it back at Onoki and Akatsuchi. He made the hand seals for the explosion just as Akatsuchi spit out a wade of rock, shielding himself and the tsuchikage.

"Damn! Akatsuchi's golem... You fatso! Still attached to that geezer's hip I see!" Deidara yelled, ringing his fists at Onoki's large subordinate.

Kurotschi flew by just then. "I wouldn't let my guard down, big brother!"

She spit her quicklime jutsu at him causing him to have to maneuver away again and back towards the tsuchikage and Akatsuchi. Onoki left the golem and came at Deidara, just barely missing his opponents blond head with his fist.

Deidara's bird picked up speed, but the tsuchikage only matched his speed, staying with him. "You're even faster now than you were when I trained under you!"

The tsuchikage scoffed. "A fact that I would love to forget! You were a little worm then... and you haven't changed a bit since! Still sneaking around and fighting from a safe distance I see. Don't give me any credit for your cowardly fighting style."

"Shut up!" Deidara yelled angrily, following the tsuchikage further up into the sky.

Onoki stopped as he found himself above the clouds and clapped his hands together. "This is just far enough!"

"Oh yeah! Come on old man! Let's see how the art of my explosion weighs against your particle style!" The mouth on Deidara's hand spit out some detonating clay as he began to form his next bomb. But then a wooden casket appeared behind him, opened up, and sucked him inside. "HEY! NOT YET!"

Onoki dropped his hands and frowned. "What the hell was that about?"

* * *

Sai's sealing tiger had Orochimaru by the neck as Ino stood with her arm over Sai's shoulder, comforting him. Ikko had also telepathically shared in the emotion that Sai unleashed to use his sealing technique, attempting to ease his comrade's burden. All three of them crowded together beyond the scroll that was now connected to their target.

Sakura stood by with Aoba, who had taken over intel gathering since the two Yamanakas were busy pulling Sai from the enormous wave of emotions.

"So you came here for the eight tails? Why?" Sakura demanded. "Are you still working with Madara?"

Orochimaru scoffed. "Madara Uchiha has been using my research for all of his delusional so-called higher purposes for far too long. Why would I choose to work with the likes of him now? I came here to make sure these idiots didn't walk... or rather swim right into the next trap."

Sakura looked at Aoba. "What are you talking about?"

"Supposedly, he came to warn us not to head towards the Land of Fire." Aoba stated. "Unfortunately, Bee has slipped off again... Might Guy went after him."

"We all know Madara is fighting this war because he wants the eight tailed beast. And yet this turtle is swimming right towards the battle field where he and his subordinates are waiting to capture and seal said beast." Orochimaru hissed. "And now while you all were worrying about me, the eight tails has managed to get away."

"How would you know this?" Aoba asked.

"I have my ways." Orochimaru stated, arrogantly. "I have just as many spies as Madara, after all."

"So you are attempting to tell us that you only came here to warn them? You, the shinobi, who nearly destroyed the hidden leaf village and killed your own master, are now trying to help the allied forces?" Sakura asked skeptically.

Orochimaru shrugged nonchalantly. "I wouldn't say I'm actually trying to help you as much as I'm trying to hurt Madara."

"We were sent here to release your chakra from that body and seal you away." Sakura stated. "You could just be saying whatever it takes to stop us from sealing you."

"You can't seal me, girl." Orochimaru stated, narrowing his snake like eyes at her. "At least not yet. You'll have to put aside your vengeance for now. Justice for all of my supposed wrong doings against our poor dear Sasuke will just have to wait young Sakura."

Sakura frowned at him, clinched her teeth, and gripped her fists tighter. "Wait for what?!"

"Did you really think the real me would show up here, just to warn these pathetic fools?" Orochimaru asked, a malicious smile forming on his lips.

"You're a clone..." Sakura guessed as she looked up at Karin, angrily. "How did you? Why did you?"

Karin shrugged, smugly. She knew the entire time that she was leading the group to a clone. "I guess I've not completely defected to your side yet, after all."

Orochimaru explained. "I sent one of my spies to Karin's cell inside of your village to give her my instructions. I can still get into the leaf without being detected, you know. Security there is more than lax these days. Tsunade should really be more careful.. any ol' criminal can just walk right into her precious village..."

"Get to the point!" Sakura glared down at Orochimaru.

"Anyway my real self is hidden in the one place that Madara will never look and you people will never find... Suigetsu and Jugo took me there after they escaped the five kage summit. I had Karin lead you here, so we could discuss our temporary alliance. You are Tsunade's little spawn, after all. So you should be the one to deliver this message to her from me. That for now... I will fight alongside the leaf."

Then the clone dispersed into several white snakes which slithered off into the shadows.

* * *

Hinata wrapped her arms tighter around Naruto's neck as he carried her north towards the battlefield. She felt so warm and safe next to him while he radiated tailed beast chakra that she could almost feel herself being lulled to sleep. But she could also feel Naruto's anxiety through the binding seal, and she knew whatever they were headed towards was bad. So her own concern heightened, keeping her awake and worried about her family, clan, and comrades.

Naruto looked down at her and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry Hinata. We will get there in time."

"I know." Hinata smiled back up at him. "And you will save everyone... I know it."

He pulled her closer to him and increased his speed as he leapt through the tops of the trees. The forest was pitch black but the glow of his body was almost like the sun and it lit the way in front of them.

Naruto's attention was split between the direction that he was headed and the friend that he had left behind. This distraction was only augmented by the sight of his mother's face as he fought his last opponent. He wanted to breakdown and lose it, but he knew he had to be strong. Everyone was counting on him. He looked down upon the girl in his arms, including her.

But he hated to leave Sasuke in that state. Even with a clone in his place, it did not sit well on his heart. Still he knew Kakashi would make sure Sasuke lived, where as he was the only one who could save those on the battlefield. Then he had another thought. Maybe he should have left Hinata behind with Kakashi.

Hinata seemed to suspect this last thought as she said firmly, "I am coming with you wherever you go."

Then she lay her cheek against his chest again and took in everything that made him, Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

Killer Bee ran across the ocean surface towards the battlefield at full speed. Gyuki warned him that he already had a pursuer, ready to try and drag him back to turtle island. They probably also sent intel ahead to his brother to warn A that he was headed their way. But there was no A without B, so no matter what his older brother said, he was coming back to fight to along side the raikage.

Though his older brother could be a pain in the butt, A had been the only reason B was able to suppress and control his tailed beast without the use of a binding seal. Eventually he was even able to become a perfect jinchuuriki.

It was no secret that B had been a strange child. A rapping orphan with no family and very few friends. For years, no one stuck around long in Bee's life. But then, he was chosen as A's double lariat partner, and for the first time, he gained a true family.

When he eventually became jinchuuriki, no one in the village had high hopes for him. The eight tailed beast was almost as strong and as unruly as the nine tailed beast, and he was just a child when Gyuki was sealed inside of him.

There had been a string of eight tailed beast jinchuuriki before him, who were older and more experienced. None were successful for long, and eventually, they each lost control of Gyuki, releasing him to rampage the village.

The largest problem was the isolation that these shinobi felt as soon as they became hosts to the powerful chakra weapons. So for decades, Kumogakure attempted to steal a Hyuga or at least one of their byakugan to provide an adequate sealing partner, who could share in the burden. They had almost been successful with the young girl, who was eventually sealed to the nine tails jinchuuriki and his bijuu.

But for Bee, a binding seal was unnecessary because he already had a partner, who was the yin to his yang. Where B was weak, A was always strong. Where A was weak, B had to be strong. They were the ultimate tag team. For this reason, there was no choice in the matter at hand. He had to be by A's side. Because if A did not live, neither would B.

* * *

By the evening of the second day, the allied camps were in complete disarray from the infiltrating zetsu. There was still no possible way to detect the transformed shinobi and it was causing a massive wave of fear and mistrust. Allied shinobi were beginning to turn against each other.

After some deliberation with Mabui from Kumo, Skikaku recalled Naruto's use of sage mode to detect Pain's changing chakra signals. They thought this possibly could be applied to a sage's ability to detect transformed chakra. So Tsunade and the other allied leaders finally released Naruto's sealed clone from interrogation to join the fight.

Several miles south...

The real Naruto stopped and set Hinata down on a branch.

"What is it?" Hinata asked, concerned by the abrupt halt. She could feel Naruto's mood shift to even higher alert.

"I just sensed my sealed clone." Naruto replied. "He's fighting now... but he's not winning."

Hinata looked off into the distance in the direction that they were traveling. They could hear the battle in front of them but they were still too far away to see any of it.

Naruto closed his eyes, reaching in for Kurama. "I'm going to try and transfer some of Kurama's chakra to him."

Within the allied forces camp...

Naruto's sealed clone lit up like a brightly lit torch as some of Kurama's chakra was transferred across miles to him. It was enough to sense nearby negative emotions and identify the transformed zetsu, while his shadow clones exterminated the enemy shinobi that infiltrated the camps. The sealed clone kissed the ground and then high fived the air. "Thanks to the original!"

Meanwhile on the front line...

The Akimichi clan was called in from Mifune's special forces to use their expansion jutsu in tandem with the Long eye kunoichi's explosive arrows and juuken masters' eight trigrams palm rotation.

During the decision to fight with the allied forces, Hiashi had serious misgivings about leaving the libraries back in Konoha so unprotected. Though the above ground library, which was open to the public and was ran by an almost blind Tosa Hyuga, had been completely destroyed during Pain's attack, that library was only a decoy. The real libraries lay underground and were only known to a few a shinobi in the village. And underneath those libraries, lay the treasury which contained the truly forbidden jutsu and was sealed to everyone but the Hokage. He was deeply disturbed by the leak that had suddenly come to his attention. It was bad enough that several years ago Orochimaru had almost managed to steal the scroll of seals, which did not include the many forbidden sealing jutsu developed by the now disbanded Uzumaki clan. Those jutsu should be completely buried. But it seemed someone had been able to get their hands on the unworthy sage: chakra release and seal. And he was almost certain it was Orochimaru again. A shinobi whose whereabouts still had not been accounted for.

Since the Hyuga clan worked so well as one unit under Hiashi's direction, Tsunade passed down the order that the entire clan was to move to the front lines despited Hiashi's misgivings. The Hyugas were able to herd all of the Zetsu into tight areas, where the stone shinobi could trap them in pits and the Akimichi shinobi could use their size to smash piles of them to bits.

But, as soon as the fourth and third company reached the southern end of the valley and began to infiltrate the southern woods, a disturbing rumbling sound could be heard as the earth started to quake.

At first Shikamaru hoped that Yamato had finally been located and was joining the fight, but then much to his horror, he realized that this wood style was more powerful than any power that Yamato had ever displayed.

Starting from the bordering woods, the entire valley was torn to pieces as roots ripped their way out of the earth. Then the cliff sides started to avalanche pushing their companies back even further. The hundreds of shinobi on the front lines ran for their lives. Anyone, who did not get out of the way quickly, was crushed by rock and buried or skewered through by deadly branches and roots.

The Akimichi Shinobi were able to tear through the roots, stopping some of them all together. But then the wood style was followed by a wave of enormous bones tearing up from the ground like deadly sharp spikes underneath the roots. These were not so easily fought, finally forcing even the Akimichi shinobi to retreat as well.

"What is this?" Temari demanded as she looked on to the battle which was slowly turning against them again.

"I guess we now know where Yamato went and what they were doing with the altered Hyuga." Shikamaru replied sarcastically.

"What?" Temari did not understand, the users of the jutsus were still too far away to visualize with normal eyes.

"Lord Hashirama's woodstyle and Kimimaro's bone pulse." Shikamaru knew little about either technique, since both were so rare, but there were good reasons why the powers had been coveted by shinobi for so long.

"Aww, yes. Two of my favorite creations." Both ninja turned to find a dead Sasori standing just feet away from them, among a clump of trees.

"Sasori?" Temari flipped open her large fan and took a defensive stance. "Is this a trick?!"

"No need for that." Sasori waved at them in surrender. "This is just a body. I have full control of it for now."

"And who are you?" Shikamaru dared to ask, though based on the crafty voice, he already had a pretty good idea.

"It's Orochimaru, of course, young leafling." Sasori turned away from the two ninja and looked over the battlefield. "Unfortunately, I was never able to gain the full power of Hamura's bloodline. Even combined together, Hyuga and Kaguya, and powered with an extensive amount of chakra, a byakugan is still just a byakugan. Unlike the sharingan, that dojutsu is as unmalleable as the clan who wields it. Though Kimimaro's bone pulse was always impressive to watch... don't you think?"

"Damn." Temari snapped her fan shut. "This just gets worse."

Orochimaru paused and hissed, "And now Madara has tainted my collection by using them for his own ridiculous purposes."

"Why are you here?" Shikamaru demanded.

"I've come to help. Just ask your hokage. We've come to an understanding, her and I." Orochimaru continued. "You'll need all the help you can get. Because this is only the beginning."

"Look!" More in their companies were shouting now as an enormous humanoid like creature appeared in the distance. It stood several stories above the ground and dwarfed even the largest of the Akimichi Shinobi.

"What the hell is that?" Now even Temari looked a bit panicked.

Shikamaru recognized the statue. It had thousands of arms, palms facing upward as though carrying the world on its shoulders, and it was very similar to the illustrations of the first hokage's wood release: true several thousand hands. Then the statue began to move forward through the roots and bones, blasting anything that moved with one of its five elemental natures. Underneath it, a barrage of wooden clones appeared up out of the tree roots like sprouting seedlings. The wood clones replaced the zetsu, attacking the allied ninja who survived. But these clones were made of wood, which made them much sturdier. "This is not good."

* * *

Hidden in the mountain graveyard of Madara's northern hideout, the true Orochimaru crouched, bent over the board of pieces that he manipulated in front of him. He coughed, spitting up more blood now. This latest body was less compatible than the first. The body's original owner had been willing, but she was also not fully aware of what he was asking of her. She was also more powerful than the first, and no matter how he put her down, she continued to fight him, trying to surface to take back her body.

Once this war was over, he needed to get his hands on Anko Mitarashi. She was his only known blood relative, which was why she had always been so precious to him. It was also the only reason why he allowed her to live, even after she betrayed him over and over again. After finally finding the Ryuchi Caves and learning the secrets of the sage snakes, he spent years scouring the village for any living relatives. He eventually found her, a child of the only sibling between his parents, who was adopted into the Mitarashi family as an infant after Anko's birth family was killed.

Becoming an unworthy sage after binding himself to the natural earth had only been a back up plan. His true plan was always to take Sasuke's body with his living corpse reincarnation jutsu and to continue to extend his life. He planned to learn every jutsu that was ever wielded; forbidden, secret, hidden, and even those that no longer existed. He had not expected to die at the hands of one of his proteges, and had dreamed of living forever. But as always, Orochimaru took precautions, just in case that plan happened to fail.

Before his death, Orochimaru sealed enough of his own chakra into the curse marks of his various subordinates from the village hidden in sound. If he absorbed the chakra conservatively, it was enough to sustain himself in this state for awhile longer. If this body broke down any further, the next release and seal would be even more difficult.

For now, he planned to act as an ally to the allied forces and play upon Tsunade's nostalgic nature as a fellow sannin. And in the end, he hoped to get close enough to Anko to gain her trust again and eventually her body. The added benefit would be to stick it to that insulant ass, Madara Uchiha and his annoying Akatsuki group.

Orochimaru picked the shinobi, who he chose to reanimate now, just for the delicious irony of watching Madara's loyal subordinates turn against the Akatsuki leader after death. The only shame was that Itachi Uchiha was not actually dead and therefore could not be brought back too. But the sannin had been able to recover enough material to revive most of the others. Including the final member, Kisame, who had just died on turtle island.

As soon as the fight heated up, he would absorb more chakra and release those caught in the dead demon consuming seal. That should complete his next set of reanimations. He was almost caught once in that accursed Uzumaki sealing jutsu himself when his old master attempted to seal his use of jutsu. After that incident, he had taken precautions.

It was a long held secret that the real masks were long ago moved from the rubble of the Uzumaki mask storage temple and placed within the village to be locked and protected underneath the Hyuga libraries. He had given Suigetsu and Jugo all of the codes to bypass the barrier seals, and despite a bit of argument from that stick in the mud, Hiashi Hyuga, the leaf village was virtually left unguarded, when the war began. He just hoped his subordinates did not get too distracted during their task. Even those two should be able to pull off stealing the old shinigami mask.

* * *

Madara transported himself to the shoulder of Tobi's wood style statue next to Sabui. "The eight tails is approaching from the east and the nine tails from the south. We need to keep the attention on this battlefield, for as long as possible. We don't want them getting the brilliant idea to send back up for the jinchuuriki."

Together, Sabui and black zetsu examined the ninja who appeared suddenly by their side. The man's mask was still completely gone and so was one of his sharingan, replaced by the same spiral eye that black zetsu wielded.

Madara looked back at his subordinates with apparent disdain. He waved his hand at Sabui. "Despite all of his cleverness, unfortunately, Orochimaru was still not clever enough to recover Hamura's tenseigan. But this fake version of things worked to recover the statue. Let's see what else, you can actually do then, Hyuga."

"It's even worse then we thought. He only seems to have manifested some of Hamura's kinetic powers." Black zetsu stated, disappointed. "Your rinnegans will have to do the rest."

Madara raised an eyebrow and then looked up into the sky. An enormous meteorite appeared above them in the sky. Screams could be heard for miles from among the tree roots and bone spikes as a small planet was pulled down to the earth to crush all those unlucky enough to find themselves beneath it.

In the distance, the glow of Naruto's sealed clone appeared from the sunken cliffs and tore through the roots, trees, wooden clones and bony spikes like a bullet across the battlefield. He was soon joined by a hundred shadow clones carrying rasengan. "Giant Rasengan Barrage!"

Several waves of the powerful chakra exploded into the meteorite as it neared the ground, causing it to crack and then crumble to pieces, showering the ground below with dust.

"Well then... it seems the little brat has the power to make sealed clones now." Madara tsked, taken aback for once in a long time. "Impressive that even at this distance he could transfer so much power."

The sealed clone landed back onto the ground and collapsed. He had used up all of the tailed beast chakra and most of his own chakra to find the zetsu and stop that meteorite. Even nearing this low a level of chakra put the sealed clone at risk of death. It took much longer for him to recover than a normal human. Yet the fight was not near to done. Another meteorite had just appeared above him, descending to the ground.

"I... can't..." The sealed clone looked up above him. And just as he attempted to stand up, he felt Gaara's hands supporting him. A small form flew by and straight up into the enormous boulder.

The tsuchikage slowed the descent, lightening the weight of the enormous rock and pushing the meteor in the other direction. Behind him a huge wave of sand appeared forming two enormous hands to support the rock.

"Is that you? Onoki? The old fence sitter is still alive I see." Madara commented. Then the Uchiha looked down his nose at the old man. "But just barely."

Onoki sneered. Nothing had changed in all these decades. Madara was still just as arrogant and condescending as he had been the last time their paths crossed over sixty years ago. "The petty squabbles of your time, Madara, are finally done. I may be old... but you're out of date! Three major wars and continuous small battles have resulted from this endless cycle of take or be taken. I'm glad to see it end."

"And yet... here we are again, fighting the fourth great war."

"This war is different! This time we are all battling together in order to escape our petty differences and hold fast to what makes us the same. Young shinobi, like Naruto of the leaf and Gaara of the sand, remind me that no matter how slow or how long it takes, we must have the patience to allow the world to learn from its past mistakes and steadily grow towards peace."

"That is where you are wrong, fence sitter. That is where Hashirama always went wrong. This world does not need to grow any further. It will never learn on its own. It should slumber peacefully under the power of the infinite tsukuyomi... becoming a true world free of lies. Leave the rest to me."

"Madara! Long ago you forced me to forsake myself... but not this time! I will win against you here. And you shall be the only one, who will slumber!"

"Hummph!" Madara crossed his arms over his chest. "So you still have some dance in you then, old man."

"He's not the only one!" Lady Tsunade and Lord A appeared suddenly through the heavenly transfer technique. And as Tsunade appeared, the mizakage followed in blur of long red hair through Genma, Raido, and Iwashi's cooperative flying raijin. The five kage finally united.


	28. Masks Off!

Naruto felt as his sealed clone used the last of his chakra to battle along side the five kage against Madara and his two subordinates, Tobi and Sabui. The sealed clone died and lay upon the soil as any regular dead body. But just as Naruto was able to transfer chakra to the clone over the long distance, he was also able to reabsorb his clone remotely as well.

"The five kage are now battling Madara. We're supposed to meet Killer Bee along the coast." Naruto said to Hinata as he shift directions. "Bee was headed towards the main battlefield, but it looks like he got held up by something."

It did not take long for them to come upon exactly who or what had held up Killer Bee. Another masked man stood on top of another enormous statue. This statue had a skeletal look to it, with a large blind fold over its eyes and a buton in-between its clenched teeth. It held up two hands towards the sky, shackled by metal chains and it squat hunched over on the ground as through praying to some invisible god.

"I thought the five kage were fighting Madara on the main battlefield?" Hinata whispered, frowning at the man who wore a white spiral mask that covered his entire head even his hair.

"They are." Naruto whispered back, continuing his approach.

"Well who is that then?"

The masked man was not alone. He was surrounded by six other shinobi. Killer Bee was not alone either. He was also surrounded by multiple shinobi. Naruto recognized the shinobi surrounding Bee right away. They all wore the trademark black robes with red clouds, after all.

"Isn't it ironic!? A fight this darn iconic between the dead hunted jinchuuriki and their dead hunters, the Akatsuki. Though sides have switched and true causes now ditched, we'll make this down and dirty. Guaranteed, it won't be puuur-tteee!" Killer Bee rapped up to the man in the mask.

Naruto landed next to Killer Bee and set Hinata down. Then he yelled up at the man in the mask. "Now WHO the hell are you?"

The six dead jinchuuriki stared down at him with six sets of purple spiraled eyes that matched the set of purple spiraled eyes, piercingly set beyond the eye holes of the white mask. "You have the rinnegan... in both eyes... like Pain! How is that even possible?"

"I'd say he's either an Uchiha... or a Uzumaki... if he can control that type of visual power." Dead Nagato spoke up, but it was not his voice. The voice sounded more sinister and snake like. "Or maybe he's a she? No... too tall and not built right. Definitely a man."

Both Bee and Naruto looked at Nagato. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the reanimation. "You aren't Nagato. Your voice is different. Who are you?"

"It's Orochimaru. These are my reanimations. And I've come to assist in this fight."

"We don't need your help or the help of your dead Akatsuki." Naruto refused bluntly.

"Oh... I think you do. Besides, I plan to help anyway."

'Why are we rejecting help?' Gyuki asked Killer Bee. 'We need all the help we can get here.'

'Speak for yourself!' Kurama snapped at Gyuki. 'All six of them together are no match for me alone. Besides I don't sense this masked man like the other hateful Uchihas, Madara and Sasuke. There is something conflicted inside of him. It's like he doesn't have a true reason to fight us.'

Nagato hissed to the man in the mask in Orochimaru's voice. "I came to fight Madara... Do you claim to be Madara?"

"I am now." The man replied, not mincing words. He turned to Bee and Naruto. "I've come here to relieve you of your despair. You've both been burdened with a tailed beast... let me take your burdens away."

Naruto growled. He recognized the voice, but he couldn't quite place it. "And who said my tailed beast was a burden! Who said I had any despair!"

He thrust a finger in the direction of the stranger. "That's not for YOU to decide. You can't even give your own name or show your own face! You know what? You're really pissin' me off! I'm going to tear that mask right off your face once and for all!"

"Oh YEH YAH! But me first!" Killer Bee unsheathed his swords.

"Try it... You will be broken." The six dead jinchuuriki began to grow the tails of their tailed beasts, asserting the power of bijuu within them.

"This will be like fighting me, Pain, before I died." Nagato now spoke with his own voice. "There are chakra rods somewhere on their bodies which he will use to control them and their powers. Their tailed beasts must have been sealed back inside their corpses just for this purpose."

"They'll be able to see through all six sets of eyes, which means they have the advantage of seeing all angles." Naruto explained to Killer Bee. He looked over at Hinata, before motioning to Kisame. "Hey you, Shark Faced Akatsuki! If you want to help, take Hinata up as high as possible and guard her there."

Naruto turned back to Bee. "I can tap into Hinata's byakugan. If she's high up enough, I should be able to use her sight almost like they do. And hopefully spot the receivers quickly."

"We'll have to extract and destroy the receivers to defeat them." He continued.

* * *

"I'm bored." Suigetsu tapped the side of his head and flipped a card. Now that they were back from their raid of the leaf village libraries, having just barely escaped a deranged group of women armed with pots and pans who called themselves the allied mom force, he was ready for some more excitement. "Running errands for this new decrepit Orochimaru is for the birds, man."

"Well maybe we should go out and look for Sasuke and Karin now." Jugo suggested, also not too excited about the idea of staying too long with Orochimaru in this dark and dank hide out, which sat in the middle of nowhere. "We know Karin is still alive... I'm sure Sasuke must be too, huh?"

"Likely. But supposedly, he and Karin had some sort of falling out. He tried to kill her. Then she sold him out to his enemies... You know, the usual lover's spat."

Suigetsu threw another card. "Nah. I'm not getting caught in the middle of that. I was thinking about something a little more fun."

"Like what?" Jugo frowned.

"What we do best. Let's meddle a bit... and along the way look for some nice blades to collect." Suigetsu smirked to himself. "Making a little bit of trouble sounds just right up my alley."

"Wait. So we're not going to look for Sasuke then?" Jugo asked confused.

* * *

Kurama's bijuu ball exploded into the beach cliffs, shattering the ground underneath the remaining five tailed beasts and knocking them all off of their feet. The nine tails leapt the miles between them and landed at the center of the other bijuu. Five long glowing arms extended from him, grasping each of the beasts around the necks and pinning them to the ground.

As their chakra touched, Naruto felt himself pulled to another plane. There he stood next to Kurama and in front of the five tailed beasts and their jinchuuriki. "Wha? Where am I?"

He looked around at the shadowed space. It looked and felt familiar. It reminded him of the chamber, where he always met with Kurama. "Is this your place Kurama? Looks nicer than usual. Did Hinata finally convince you to renovate, too, or what?"

"Or What! My chamber is perfectly fine! Hinata did no such thing!" Kurama yelled down at his jinchuuriki. "How dare you compare that substandard hovel, you call a home, to my place!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but this plane is beyond our individual planes." The two tails jinchuuriki explained apologetically attempting to break up the argument. "It's a place where we, tailed beast, can all meet while we're linked together. And its beyond any place that the masked man can reach."

"After you attempted to release Son Goku the four tails, he asked us to give you something. Whatever you said to him... he believes in you. Kurama appears to believe in you too. So we decided to give you something very important to us."

Each tailed beast and jinchuuriki introduced themselves by their full names. Then Naruto smiled and shoved a thumb in his chest. "And I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And this is my partner and friend, Kurama."

"Son Goku told us you acknowledge us, tailed beasts, as equals... but I wasn't sure I believed it until now." Matatabi the two tails purred.

Kurama smiled his wiley smile down at the others, and said, arrogantly. "Of course Naruto is special! He is the old man! Do you think anyone less could be MY partner?"

"Oh Kurama. You never change." Isubo the three tails sighed up at the nine tailed fox.

All five tailed beasts held out their fists. "Now let us grant you our names properly."

Naruto touched fists with the others... A vision of an old man with wild pure white hair, purple spiraled eyes, a red spiral mark at the center of his forehead, and wrinkled white skin flashed into his mind for just a second. And then some drums began to play...

After all of the names poured into his head, Naruto scratched his temple. "No way am I going to remember all of that."

He deactivated his beast form, not able to hold it any longer, as Might Guy suddenly appeared next to him.

"Wow! What's going on here?" Might Guy looked over at Killer Bee. "I finally found you octopus jinchuuriki. And now I'm ready to fight..."

Guy caught sight of dead Kisame standing up above them with Hinata. "Hey! I recognize that guy there."

"Where do I know him from?" He wrinkled his brow, thinking hard.

"You just fought me not more than two days ago! You still don't remember me?!" Kisame yelled back down at Guy.

"You must have been a mighty foe!" Then Guy turned back to Naruto with concern on his face and whispered. "That guy I fought two days ago killed himself. What would he be doing standing there next to Hinata?"

"Orochimaru reanimated him. And some of the other Akatsuki. Supposedly they are here to help us." Naruto pointed to the man in the mask. "That guy over there is our enemy now."

"Well.. lucky for him, he doesn't have a face for me to forget." Might Guy shrugged, cracking his knuckles.

"Wait. What is he doing?" Hinata inspected to the man in the mask who still stood on top of the Gedo Statue watching quietly. He kneeled and placed his hand down on the top of the head. She could see the chakra in his hand connecting to the statue. "Do you see this, Naruto?!"

Naruto was distracted by the appearance of the red headed woman who looked like his mother. She came from the cliffs and ran across the beach, but she was not headed towards them. She was headed towards the statue. She passed between the tailed beasts as they lay strewn over the sand. And did not stop until placed her hand on the bottom of the statue.

Hinata again witnessed as Masuku's chakra seemed to connect with the statue too. Madara appeared at the top of the statue standing next to the masked man. The spiral faced white Guruguru and Sabui appeared with him. Each moved down onto a shoulder and stooped to place their hand on the statue.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto demanded. "You are supposed to be fighting Lady Tsunade and the other kage on the main battlefield. What happened to them?"

"That fight ended... unfortunately, badly for them." Madara crossed his arms over his chest. "But this one is just about to begin."

His three subordinates began to phase into the statue and at the same time the statue began to move. Lifting its head, it let go of the baton between its teeth and roared. The blind fold over its eyes ripped revealing nine eyes, eight of which were already open. It stretched its arms and and broke the shackles that linked its wrists together. Wooden spikes extended from its back, long bony spikes from its elbow, and an enormous set of chains appeared from within its chest. The chains wrapped around the necks of the five tailed beast on the ground, pulling them back into the statue. Another chain shot through Gyuki and Killer Bee binding to their chakra as it wrapped around the tailed beasts tentacles and pulled him in.

"Octopops!" Naruto activated beast mode and reached a large chakra arm out to hold onto Gyuki. He dodged the chain meant for him as more clones appeared, attempting to us their bodies to hold the eight tails and cut through the chain. Bony spikes flew from the statue, skewering some of the clones. The rest were caught by wooden limbs extending from the statues legs and arms.

"It's the masked one at the top!" Hinata yelled down. "He is controlling the statue!"

A spike flew in her direction, but it was blocked by Kisame, who threw his entire body in front of it. Naruto moved chakra over top of Hinata as she caught Kisame as he fell back, weakened for the moment by the spike through his abdomen.

Nagato moved in front of Naruto and used his push and pull to send the spikes aimed at Naruto in an array of directions. While Might Guy used the flying bony spikes to ascend up towards the top of the statue. "Don't you worry! I'll take out that masked one!"

Madara scoffed and looked at Guy, sending him flying back and crashing down into the sand. Next Nagato attempted to ascend towards them. Madara transported from his position at the top of the statue's head down to Nagato, so he was right behind him. Nagato attempted a push, but Madara used the Kamui as the force passed through him before flipping another kunai into his hand which he used to slice into Nagato's neck. Once then twice. The reanimation dropped to the ground as Madara transported again, back to the head.

Now Kakashi appeared from the cliffs, where Masuku had just come from, with Sasuke in tow. Madara scowled to see the youngest Uchiha was still alive. He yelled at the masked man. "Hurry this up!"

The chain meant for Naruto and Kurama extended again, but again he dodged. This time Kakazu moved into the way, wrapping his strings around the chain to break it.

"I always have to do everything myself, I see." Madara tossed off his robe and transported down off of the statue closer to Naruto. As he approached, a second face became visible on his chest over the right half of his body where Obito's face was scarred and most of his body was another color, reconstructed after he was found decades before. "I chose this body for a very special reason. A secret that was kept from me for far too long and will now be used to crush the dreams of those who thought that they had defeated me."

He made hand seals, summoning a large wooden dragon, which crashed through the ground in the direction of Naruto.

In response, Naruto took his full beast form, meeting the onslaught of Madara's jutsu. The dragon wrapped around the tailed beast and began to absorb its chakra. Naruto's chakra mixed with Kurama's chakra vitalized the wood style, causing it to grow out of control, expanding into a forest of trees that crushed Kurama further.

"Damn it!" Kakashi left Sasuke with Guy and ran across the battle field at Madara.

"What are you doing Kakashi!? Don't be so hasty!" Might Guy yelled after him as he watched the Copy Ninja fling himself at Madara, wielding his chidori. Madara rolled his eyes and pulled Kakashi into the kamui without a thought.

* * *

Kakashi stood up and brushed himself off. He grumbled. "Well that was easy."

Looking around the strange dull purple world, he called out. "Obito! Where are you?"

As though a mist cleared in front of him, Obito appeared from behind a cloud and became visible to Kakashi. He was seated crosslegged on a higher platform near the mirrored lake. "Kakashi. So you finally made it here."

He stood up too and crossed to greet his friend. "Obito... tell me how you got here."

Obito quickly told the story about being found by Zetsu and Tobi and being healed under Madara's flowering tree. He explained all the way up to the part where he met Rin and Kakashi in the woods surrounded by the mist shinobi. Then he got choked up and could not go any further.

"I've been waiting to die since that day." Kakashi replied, looking down at his hands. The truth was that he had stopped living too after Rin died followed by Minato's death, no more than a year later. It was only after he took on his own version of their team seven that he had anything to drive him forward day after day. But he was still just a ghost of who he was when he knew Obito.

Obito leaned back against the elevated platform above Kakashi and smiled slightly. "I look forward to seeing her again too. But I am already a dead man, while you still belong with the living, Kakashi. Even if Madara were to vacate my body, I would die just like a jinchuuriki who loses their tailed beast. So now I count on you to complete the dream and become hokage."

Kakashi gave a half acknowledgement to that last statement, not wanting to reveal that he had already just barely escaped the position once.

"I still don't understand why you ended up here?" Kakashi shook his head. "I mean why did Madara chose you? No offense but you weren't exactly the most talented Uchiha alive back then."

Obito rolled his eyes and chuckled to himself. "I see you haven't changed that much."

Kakashi saluted Obito, returning the smile.

"I didn't know why for a long time." Obito stated. "But most of Madara's thoughts and memories are transferred to me while I'm awake, and lately, the reason has become pretty clear."

"Was it because you had no parents?" Kakashi prompted.

"No." Obito spoke thoughtfully. Then he asked a question. "Did you see how Hashirama's wood style was vitalized uncontrollably by the nine tails chakra inside Naruto?"

"Yea. Sure."

"Well apparently Orochimaru figured out early on that Eiko Hyuga's bloodline had an opposite effect on the wood style. When Hashirama's cells are fused with Eiko's cells, the power is made completely null and void. But if both are combined with others cells, the power is less potent and easier to control. The second characteristic applies to all of Hamura's descendants but it seems to be stronger in Eiko and in Hinata... and in all those who are able to be sealed directly to the nine tails. Eiko's closer relations also seem to have a stronger affect on the wood style, which is why Orochimaru chose to kidnap Sabui, who would have been Eiko's great great nephew. And that would be the reason why Madara chose me as his body host."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't make sense."

"Before Madara left Konoha for good, Eiko finally gave into his long pursuit for her hand in marriage. They spent a night together... And eventually a child came from that night. Not long after he and the nine tails were defeated by Hashirama, Madara tried to come back for Eiko. He planned to give up all of his hatred and vengeance for her. But when he found out she had sealed herself to Mito and Kurama, he became enraged. Then later, he discovered she was pregnant with his child, and he vowed to steal the child from her. So Eiko hid her son with the help of Hashirama and Mito. She pretended that he died in child birth and then hid him among the Uchiha clan.

Izu Uchiha grew up known to the world as the son of a man named Akihito Uchiha, who was Madara's first cousin. Akihito had twins around the same time as Eiko gave birth to Izu. One of the babies died, and so Izu took his place as the twin brother of Akihito's daughter, Kaiya Uchiha.

Izu developed both a byakugan and a sharingan, but he kept his byakugan hidden. He was a very secretive man. Not much is known about him other than he spent most of his life as a medical ninja. He married an Uchiha woman and had his own son. His twin sister also had a son, but she was killed soon after giving birth, so he raised both sons as his own. The younger son was Futoshi Uchiha, who was Fugaku Uchiha's father, and the older son was Toshito Uchiha, who was my mother's father. Toshito died when my mother was just a young girl, so I never knew him."

"And you're saying..."

"I'm saying that one of Izu's sons was Eiko and Madara's grandchild. The other son was a relative but did not have Hyuga blood."

"So how did Madara figure out that you were the descendant of his blood grandchild?"

"He didn't." Obito stated. "He chose to save me that day that you and Rin thought I died because he knew I was at least the closest blood relation through Akihito. So he supposed he would be able to activate the mangekyo sharingan in me.

When he began to reconstruct my body with Hashirama's cells, he noticed that I was not reacting to the wood style the way that I should. Instead of being overcome by the power, I was able to suppress it easily even though I was just a child and only had a fraction of his power. Almost half of my body was reconstructed with replicated cells from Lord First, and without the help of injecting Hyuga DNA. Eventually, he put two and two together, and he realized my true identity. He traced things back and figured out who Izu was and that my grandfather was Izu's blood related son. After that he decided to take my body as his host."

"So that's why he can use Hashirama's wood style now too." Kakashi sighed. "Between that and being able to dodge any attack. And those are only the powers he has acquired from your body. We still have no idea of everything Madara himself if capable of. He has to have some weakness... at least one."

Kakashi looked at Obito for a second. "You know that kid out there, Naruto?"

"Yeah." Obito nodded. "Hinata told me about him. She talks about him a lot... actually."

"Yea, I'm sure." Kakashi replied sarcastically. "He's my student. He actually reminds me a lot of you. The first day I met him, I actually thought that Lord Third was trying to play some sort of sick joke on me."

"After you gave me your sharingan, I vowed to you that I would be an extension of your will after death. I failed to save Rin, but I've found ways to be just that in other forms. Everything I have left to my students, I have learned from you. Your strong will even in the face of the worse odds. Your vow to never let a comrade down, even if it means breaking the rules. You showed just how strong you are when you took back your body from Madara to free Hinata."

Kakashi placed his hand on Obito's shoulder. "This is YOUR body."

Obito placed his hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "And you are my friend and my teammate. I will never let you down, Kakashi. There may be one weakness... though it is small."

* * *

Both Naruto and Kurama felt the wood style dragon's hold falter for a moment. 'I don't know what that was. But Naruto... this is our chance!'

Kurama ripped into the wooden creature with his teeth and then pounded it with his fists into the ground before leaping away and towards Killer Bee and Gyuki. He leaned his head back shaping the dense chakra for his next bijuu ball, before releasing it into the enormous chain that restrained the eight tails. The chain released the tailed beast as Kurama knocked Gyuki away.

The nine tails scooped up Might Guy, Sasuke and Hinata following the eight tails away from the statue.

"Hunh! Running away already eh?" Madara taunted. He looked up at the masked man. "Forget this. We have enough of both the eight and nine tails chakra to complete the ten tails. Make the preparations. We'll use the ten tails to get the two trouble makers later."

He lept back up on top of the statue. This process needed to move faster. The previous occupant of his current body was getting more and more unruly each time he sucked one of those annoying leaf shinobi into the Samui. Obito's connection to the kamui was definitely a huge weakness to this jutsu, and there was nothing Madara could do about it other than to keep Obito's spirit as weak as possible. Eventually he was going to have reenter the dimension to put Obito back down. But he had to handle things here first.

The man in the mask stood up and made some hand seals, summoning and distributing several enormous black chakra receivers around the Gedo statue. He made more hand seals erecting the six red yang formation barrier.

* * *

Shikaku wiped the sweat from his forehead. All five kage were down. At this point, their leaders' deaths still had not been confirmed but the odds were not looking good. However, it had been confirmed that Madara and his two subordinates disappeared not long after, only to reappear on the beach where a second masked man was battling Killer Bee and Naruto.

So far there had been several enormous explosions as well as sightings of an enormous glowing nine tailed beast. Shikaku inferred from this that Naruto had completely taken control of his tailed beast. He also seemed to be able to distribute the tailed beast chakra between his clones... even transferring it over distances to a sealed clone. He wondered if this ability might also apply to transferring the chakra to others.

The last bit of bad news to arrive was that the ten tails had emerged from a barrier resurrected by the second masked man. Both the nine and the eight tailed beasts together were no match for the awesome power that the ten tailed beast displayed.

When the intel from Kakashi finally arrived, Shikaku was ecstatic to hear that Naruto had transferred some of the nine tails chakra to him when they fought Masuku. If Naruto could enhance everyone's chakra and their skills, they may have a chance. This could be done even quicker by using clones and taping into the Hyuga's byakugan and fractured sight. So far, it appeared that the beast was just barely being controlled by both Madara and the masked man. "If we work together, we might be able to separate the tailed beast from its controllers. We need to move all of the companies to Naruto's and Killer Bee's position."

"Inoichi please connect to the minds of all those in the companies headed towards the beach." Shikaku moved and knelt in front of his friend who was attached to the mind amplifier. "This is important. We need to not only let them know the plan. With our leaders down, we need to make sure to stoke morale."

"I can try." Inoichi did not sound confident. "I've never been much of a spokesman and connecting to so many minds will be difficult."

Shikaku placed his hand on Inoichi's shoulder. "I know you can do it."

* * *

The ten tails was flinging bijuu balls for several hundred miles, destroying any unfortunate villages, which happened to be in its path. And every effort to put the tailed beast down, just seemed to make it stronger and more agitated.

Madara crossed his arms, and smugly watched as the last tailed beast bomb hit its mark, destroying the allied forces headquarters. "Finally got them. Now we have smashed the brains of the allied forces. Aww... to use their own simple basic strategy against them pleases me."

He looked over at his masked partner expecting some shared celebration, but was disappointed to find no reaction at all. "You don't talk much do you?"

The masked man looked away and out towards the residual cloud created from the massive explosion. "There's nothing to say. I'm doing what it takes to fight your war and achieve the infinite tsukuyomi. I don't need to comment on it."

"How about your thoughts on strategy?" Madara scowled at his subordinate.

"My thoughts are apparently your thoughts now." The masked man replied.

"Is that so? You've always very been difficult to read. So much so, that your own village never even realized how you loyally fought for them. It's even worse with that mask on."

* * *

"Spread out in your sealed pairs and get as high as possible." Hiashi commanded his clan. He stood over his daughter protecting her from the incoming wood spikes from the ten tails. "One to protect and the other to watch."

Once his forces were in place, Hiashi gave Hinata the signal to activate her fractured sight. He sent another signal down to Naruto, who activated beast mode and then taped into Hinata's vision. Naruto created five clones and then sped through the allied forces distributing nine tails chakra to everyone as quickly as possible.

The battlefield lit up with Kurama's brilliant chakra as it moved from shinobi to shinobi like wild fire.

"Is that brat giving them his nine tails chakra?!" Madara was becoming irritated now. He yelled at his masked subordinate. "Stop them!"

As the ten tails enormous tails came down at the allied forces, Choji and the Akimichi clan ninja expanded themselves even larger and stronger aided by the nine tails chakra and grabbed the tails, restraining the beast. Choji yelled down at his teammates. "Ino! Shikamaru!"

Both Ino and Shikamaru could feel the wills of their fathers surge within them, just as strong as they felt the nine tails chakra. Their last words meant everything. "Never forget. Our story does not end here, today. We will live on through you forever."

As the bone spikes appeared from the ten tails to pierce through the Akimichi who restrained it, Ino found her way into the mind of the masked man.

Shikamaru and the Nara shinobi sent their shadow possession to immobilize the tailed beast. Shikamaru looked over at Ino. "You can stop now Ino."

Ino woke up in Kiba's arms. She shook her head. "There is something really strange about that masked ninja."

Madara sighed. "Clever. But not clever enough."

* * *

Sasuke had been in and out of consciousness ever since he was mortally wounded by Madara. He felt himself being carried by Kakashi north towards the battle. By the time they reached the beach, the wound in his chest was nearly healed by the massive amount of Hashirama's cell that Madara had been injecting into him. Not long after, he felt Naruto nearby for awhile. Soon after, a team of medical ninja had him, but that ended abruptly by the appearance of three familiar faces.

He finally became fully conscious after Karin allowed him to feed off of her chakra. Though at first she pretended to object, he could taste her wanting to be connected to him again. Opening his eyes, he mumbled, "How are you three here?"

"You never gave us enough credit for our resourcefulness, boss." Suigetsu replied sarcastically. "Yet here we are... saving your ass again. But hell, Orochimaru is the exact same way. We saved his butt too, by the way."

Sasuke scoffed. "Why would you save me or Orochimaru? Still stupid I see."

"Maybe so." Suigetsu shrugged. "But stupid is a lot more fun."

"I only did this because Suigetsu and Jugo freed me from prison. I did it for them!" Karin announced abruptly. She pulled her arm away from Sasuke and then moved off to sit angrily with her arms crossed over her chest.

She was annoyed to find herself back in the leaf village and behind bars again, after she helped those stupid leaf ninja locate Orochimaru on turtle island. Granted he was clone, but still she felt she had been very cooperative considering. She should have known Orochimaru was not actually going to help release her like he promised. Luckily, Jugo and Suigetsu got bored and showed up. Though she was certain their boss was going to try to take credit for her jail break anyway.

"Where is Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked ignoring Karin's pouting.

"Holed up in one of Madara's hideouts." Suigetsu replied. "He had us steal some old masks from the leaf village. That's where we came across Karin. After we delivered the masks to Orochimaru, we got bored, so we went back and freed Karin. Then we came looking for you."

"What's he want with the mask?"

"Who?"

"Orochimaru."

Suigetsu shrugged. "Something about freeing souls trapped in some dead demon seal."

"He'll need to get into the bunker under the remaining Uchiha temple to perform that jutsu. It's sealed so only those with Uchiha blood can access it... to keep out those nosy Hyugas." Sasuke stood up and brushed off his pants. He almost collapsed again as Jugo grabbed him. He still felt terrible despite Karin's chakra. Despite gaining back some strength, he might even feel worse. He started to cough. Bloody shards of wood came up into his palm. His insides were starting to feel as if they were being ripped in two.

"That doesn't look good." Suigetsu commented, twisting his face up in disgust.

"Take me to Orochimaru." Sasuke replied. "He'll help me in exchange for entrance into that temple."


	29. Return Of The Three Way Deadlock

"You rub my back and I rub yours, Sasuke. That was always the nature of our relationship." Orochimaru injected Sasuke with the substance that they recovered from his laboratory in the village hidden in sound. "But you need not be too reckless, my dear student. Karin's chakra will only make things worse for you now. But this serum will help for awhile. It is much stronger than the serum Madara gave you from Sabui or whatever fake serum he was able to create from the jinchuuriki's binding seal partner. This is from my special collection. These are actual cells from Eiko Hyuga."

"What do you want in return?" Sasuke asked, suspiciously.

"You will accompany me to the Uchiha temple in the southern forest to free the souls still trapped in the dead demon consuming seal." Orochimaru explained. "The old Uzumaki clan, who created the shinigami mask, used sealed clones to dawn those masks as blood sacrifices to trick and manipulate the demons that the masks were supposed to mimic. The masks were made in a similar fashion to a sealed clone and are therefore irreplicable unless you have an Uzumaki very skilled with fuinjutsu at your disposal. The one caveat to this jutsu is that the ceremony must be preformed in the presence of an item even older than the demon. And the oldest item known to man would be the stone tablet sealed away by the Uchiha clan... which is why we must take the trouble to travel into the wilderness. And since we have no sealed clones, I will have to use this current body as the blood sacrifice -she's becoming troublesome anyway. But after the body dies, I need you to release and seal my chakra into a new body."

"My body?" Sasuke's voice grew even more suspicious.

"Your body is of no use to me anymore. It's incompatible, you are no longer a willing host, and you've grown too powerful to control anyway. I'd likely be trapped inside of you, only to be used as you see fit." Orochimaru scoffed at the thought. He had other plans for Sasuke, anyway.

For years, Orochimaru secretly studied the Uzumaki sealing techniques that the Hyugas collected and kept locked under their libraries after Uzushiogakure was destroyed. He even took a trip to the old ruins in order to unearth even older buried scrolls that the Hyuga clan had missed.

Despite all of the brilliant plans and ideas that were handed down to him from the hokage and Danzo and his anonymous backer (who ended up to be Madara Uchiha), Orochimaru had his own plans for Kushina's clone. The precious scrolls outlining the misuse and dangers of the kinjutsu developed by the Uzumaki clan to release and seal away an unworthy sage were rediscovered by Orochimaru and yet again stolen by Madara early on in their tenuous relationship. Soon after that Orochimaru leaked the information to the hokage, in the hopes that his unanimous backer might eventually be caught and sealed away for good.

In the elder days, certain shinobi from the Uzumaki clan were chosen whenever the problem of a sage who abused their powers arose. The leader of the clan would chose the reaper from the strongest of his seal makers. The reaper would release the sage's chakra from his dead body, and then would seal the sage's chakra within him or herself. The extensive amount of chakra and the resilient life force of an Uzumaki shinobi would keep the sage's chakra and life force suppressed until death. After death, the reaper's body was sealed inside a sarcophagus deep underground, where the sage could not be released again. So it was well known to Orochimaru that one of the most important rules in picking a body host was to always be stronger. "No. One of my subordinates, who is more compatible and less unruly, has agreed to be my next host."

"And what is the purpose of all of this anyway?" Suigetsu was not too keen on traveling into the southern forest where the temple lay. It was not that he was superstitious or anything, but there was a good reason why only Uchiha shinobi ventured into that part of the Land of Fire.

"Are you scared to venture into the southern woods, Suigetsu?" Orochimaru chuckled maliciously. "What are the chances that the stories about living trees who place men under genjutsu and then suck their bones dry are true? The nine tailed beast is long gone from that region. And if we run into any of his rogue chakra, known to rip grown men into tiny bite sized pieces before swallowing them whole, we have an Uzumaki and an Uchiha with us. Karin will sense any danger ahead of us and Sasuke's sharingan is strong enough to keep us safe, eh?"

"What?" Karin demanded, her red hair seeming to flare with her anger. "Who said I was coming?"

Orochimaru ignored Karin. "As to why I'm doing this. Let's just say I need to get in good with the leaf again and this is the simplest path to that goal."

"I could care less what your reasons are." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with so I can find my brother."

"By the way Sasuke. I wouldn't try to double cross me this time." Orochimaru directed his suspicious eyes in his ex student's direction. "Once all of this is done, I have something very important to share with you about your brother, Itachi. Like I said before... you rub my back and I rub yours."

* * *

The stone shinobi used their mountain jutsu enhanced with the nine tails chakra to squeeze the ten tails in place between two enormous peaks. It appeared the tide had turned again in the favor of the allied forces as both Madara and the masked man were forced from the ten tails onto the ground by the remaining shinobi, who were not in the midst of immobilizing the tailed beast.

"Now that we've taken out the brains on your side. Now what?" Naruto yelled angrily across the battle field.

Madara waved his hand. "I wouldn't get too excited yet. You've only managed to make the creature mad."

Kakashi appeared out of the kamui then, aiming his chidori at Madara's chest. His jutsu went through his body, but as he came out the other side, Madara jerked forward, coughing up blood out of his mouth. He dropped to his knee, activating the chest cavity of his Susanoo to protect himself from any further attacks. Holding his chest, he put pressure on the wound that was now inflicted there. "You!" Madara yelled at the masked man. "Hold things here. I have something I need to take care of."

Madara disappeared into the kamui just as the ten tails released itself from the mountain and sent a devastating shockwave across the battlefield. The shock wave tore into Naruto and the others who he had shielded in the nine tails chakra, expending the fiery chakra as shinobi were tossed back off their feet for miles around. The ten tails crouched and roared in response to its awesome power, sprouting more bony like plates and wooden limbs that flowered into a huge mouth like opening. Another massive chakra ball appeared above, this time even bigger than before.

"There's no way we're going to be able to defend against that Shikamaru." Ino's eyes opened wide as she watched the bomb expand even bigger.

"My dad left me in charge of strategy making." Shikamaru looked determinedly at Ino. "I don't plan on letting him down. We're going to build enough walls with earth style to hopefully stop that thing."

Ino connected Shikamaru telepathically to the stone shinobi in order to obtain a simple jutsu that the majority of the allied forces could preform or mimic. Then he had Ino and Ikko send the instructions out to every member who was not too injured. It did not take long for everyone to have the jutsu. But they had completely lost the use of Kurama's chakra now and had to relay on Gyuki and Killer Bee to take whatever impact the walls could not absorb.

But once the power was released, there was nothing that would stop it. As the eight tails was knocked completely unconscious, Shikamaru raised his arm above his head. He, Ino and Choji surrounded Naruto to shield him as Sakura worked to heal him as quickly as possible.

Naruto felt Hinata's excitement as she spotted the incoming shinobi, even with his speed the Hyuga's fractured sight could see the trail of chakra that was left in his wake. The massive chakra ball disappeared into thin air a fraction of a second later.

"Wha?" Shikamaru looked around confused. That's when the shinobi reappeared again, standing right next to him. The blond man turned and looked at him with familiar bright blue eyes immersed in black. "I'd brace for impact. Its about to hit to your right, out at sea."

"Who are you?" Shikamaru frowned up at Minato. That's when the impact hit. Even as far out as the bomb had been placed, the blast still crashed through the entire beach, causing an enormous tsunami and reshaping the shoreline.

"That's my dad." Naruto answered proudly after the wind and the sea had settled down.

Shikamaru examined the man standing next to him. His skin did not seem quite right and did not sit the same way on his flesh as a living person. His eyes had the deep black hue of a reanimation. "So whose controlling you?"

"That would be Orochimaru."

Shikamaru spun around to another surprise, finding Sasuke standing directly behind him staring across the battle field. He slipped a kunai into his hand, ready to strike Sasuke, but in a flash, Minato moved between them. He said to Shikamaru in a soft and kind voice, "we are here as allies."

Shikamaru relaxed a bit. This guy did just save all of them from that bijuu bomb, but he was not ready to accept anything that Sasuke had to say. He looked over to Naruto for his next move. Naruto nodded at him firmly. "They are here as allies. Believe it."

"I still haven't figured out Orochimaru's angle..." Shikamaru sent an unfriendly stare in Sasuke's direction but her re-sleeved the kunai. "But since you're standing here, I can ask you, yours."

"Madara stabbed me and took my brother." Sasuke replied bluntly. He looked across the battlefield at the masked man. "He recovered Shisui's sharingan from Danzo's body and used it to manipulate Itachi into doing his bidding. But Itachi has sacrificed his family, his clan, his life and his reputation for the village. He would rather die than to turn against what he truly believes. I won't allow Madara to corrupt his sacrifices."

Sasuke turned again and looked directly at Naruto. "For that reason, I will fight with you."

* * *

Orochimaru watched through his slit like snake eyes as Tsunade sucked chakra from Karin's arm. As soon as Tsunade's vision cleared and she realized who was standing above her, she narrowed her eyes back at him.

Noticing her glare, Orochimaru hissed, "Tsunade. Always so ungrateful. I came here to save you and the other four kage. Now that you are healed, you can heal them. So what has got your panties in such a wade?"

Tsunade scoffed. "What do you want, Orochimaru? What is the price that we're going to have to pay for this help you are so eager to extend?"

"No price." Orochimaru knelt down and smiled at his old teammate maliciously. "The range of things that interests me has just expanded. And there are still those among the leaf who are precious to me. Besides... Madara Uchiha and his band of merry Akatsuki tricked me into doing their bidding for them... which I don't like. If they wanted to borrow someone's life's work, they should've asked first. So what better way to have my revenge than by joining forces with Madara's enemies.

Besides, I've met your protege and I've seen what she can do... you must be so proud, Tsunade. And Jiriaya's little brat has more than surpassed him too. I want to see what my student, Sasuke, can do. I never cared to leave anything behind because I never planned to die anyway, but now that I have... I just can't help to see the benefits of that beloved legacy that Jiraiya was constantly prattling on about."

"As usual, nothing you do makes any sense..." Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest, not buying what Orochimaru was selling. "You do realize I sent my student to find you, so she could seal you away for good. Yet here you are saving my life and backing up the allied forces."

"The girl does have the byakugou just like you. And she wields it with even more proficiency than you." Orochimaru commented. "But... she doesn't have Uzumaki blood or a kekkei genkai. That sealing would have been very difficult for her to perform. Still I don't think you were counting on that team sealing me away. I think you just wanted to flush me out."

"Three way dead lock." Tsunade responded and stood up to match Orochimaru's gaze.

"Awww, yes. Our summoning animals. I think there may be a new team continuing that tradition on the battlefield as we speak." Orochimaru looked in the direction of the ongoing battle. "Aren't you nostalgic for our hay days?"

"I'm not talking about summoning animals." Tsunade scowled at Orochimaru, not feeling nostalgic at all. "I'm talking about our inability to ever compromise or even see things the same way as each other. You and I were on the same team, but were we ever allies? And after all these years of being enemies, now that the one person who always kept us from killing each other is dead, you are telling me that you finally see it my way."

"Stranger things have happened." Orochimaru replied, shrugging his shoulders.

* * *

The masked man stood on the cliff watching quietly with his arms crossed over his chest as the ten tails sent out multiple smaller versions of itself covered in bony armor in order to protect its immobilized body.

"There is no way we can easily destroy that ash bone armor without some how weakening it first." Shikamaru commented, skeptically.

"I think we can do it." Naruto looked over at Hinata and Sakura. Sakura narrowed her eyes back at him, feeling much the same way as Shikamaru and the others from their genin class, who had all congregated to see if Sasuke had truly rejoined the leaf. Naruto ignored the mistrust in her eyes and turned to Sasuke. "...If we work together."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Fine. But don't get too nostalgic."

Hinata smiled at Naruto. She could feel excitement fluttering in his chest as he stood next to his old teammate again. She whispered to Sakura. "This will work. I know it."

Naruto created enough clones for each of the incoming creatures while shaping a calling seal anchored to each one. Sakura summoned Katsuyu and watched as the enormous slug broke into multiple smaller slugs. She sat cross legged, protected behind one of Naruto's clones channeling her chakra into each slug.

Hinata jumped from calling seal to calling seal in a matter of seconds, tossing a slug on each creature as she went. The Katsuyus bound themselves to the creatures placing the paralysis genjutsu that Sakura filtered through them. In response, the creatures froze mid step and toppled to the ground like a group of fallen trees. Naruto's clones slammed their fists into the creatures burying them deeper into the earth.

Naruto summoned the now enormous Gamikichi, grabbing Hinata from the center of the creatures and leaping over the remaining creatures towards the ten tails. Katsuyu reassembled herself into an enormous slug and reached her head back. She let go of an enormous geyser of acidic slime, spewing it over the creatures bodies. As the acid weakened the bony armor, Sasuke tore through the bodies on Aoda's head, his summoning snake, cracking the nearby creatures with the swords of his partial Susanoo. He was followed by Shino, Kiba's three head dog, and the ultimate Ino-shik-cho combo.

As the second, third, and fourth hokages released the barrier that now contained the ten tails, Gamikichi was met by Aoda. "Good of you to join us!"

"Shut up." Sasuke growled aiming his susanoo's enormous bow at the ten tails, the arrow was lit with black flames. Naruto aimed his rasenshiruken at the arrow, pushing it forward as it sliced into the tailed beast.

The ten tails screamed and writhed in agony as the black flames spread. The masked man hoped down from the cliffs above, landing between tailed beast the other shinobi. Two of reanimated the hokage appeared on either side of him. He pushed out, sending a blast of kinetic energy at the two hokage. Both attempted to dodge by moving back slightly, but the masked man released the genjutsu, revealing the two chakra rods summoned behind the hokage, piercing through their backs. The masked man moved his hand down, sending the rods down into the ground to be staked. Then he made several hands seals as he began to seal the ten tails.

"No!" Sasuke appeared suddenly behind the masked man, slicing down to cut off his mask. The white casing, cracked and fell away as long black shaggy hair spilled out. He appeared again in front of Naruto activating his mangeyko and attacking his teammate.

"Sasuke?!" Naruto began to defend himself as Sasuke's attacks became more and more relentless. A loud sqwaucking sound could be heard as an enormous black bird appeared behind Naruto. Sasuke spun out of the bird's sightline, moving behind the masked man and directing the bird's vision towards Itachi.

"You will protect the village at all costs."

Itachi shook his head, seeming to wake up out of the thoughts that Madara had placed into his head. He looked back and forth between Naruto and Sasuke. His eyes locked on Sasuke as full realization of the current situation dawn on Itachi. He breathed, "Little brother... run."

Then his body started to twist and become distorted with the power of the ten tails. He shrieked in agony as the being broke its way out of its millennia long prison.

The ten tails began to take shape as it reached out of Itachi, expanding itself from his body and breaking out of the seal. Two enormous chains flung themselves from his deformed body. One piercing through Sasuke's chest before reaching into Naruto, dragging out Kurama. The other wrapped around Gyuki and Killer Bee, dragging the unconscious eight tails into itself. At the same time Itachi's body began to split in two as the true ten tails climbed up and out of an expanding flower of tree roots that dug into the ground and then sprout upperwards into a trunk of a tree with massive branches. The creature clambered away from the expanding tree as it drug the two remaining tailed beasts into itself.

Minato appeared activating tailed beast mode and encasing his son's body lying unconscious in Hinata's arms in the chakra. He covered Sasuke and Sakura as she appeared on Katsuyu to try and heal her teammates. Outside of the protective chakra, the ground quaked as the god's tree continued to expand, taking over both the land and the sea, and consuming any living soul in its path. The ten tails was even larger than before as it roared and slashed at the sky.

Feeling the presence of this extreme power, Madara emerged from the kamui again.

* * *

"Naruto! Wake up!"

As soon as Naruto opened his eyes, he knew he was no longer on the living earth. But somehow he was not dead either. He was somewhere in between. He sat up and looked around him. This plane looked and felt very similar to the place where the tailed beast pulled him to give him their chakra.

"I'm over here!"

He spun around at the sound of the voice and frowned still not seeing any one else in this empty space.

"Over here!"

He stood up and turned again following the voice. "I can't see you."

"Here I am." The sudden image of the old man completely paralyzed Naruto's body as it flashed into his mind again. He dropped straight backwards in to the small pool of water that covered the surface of the ground.

"Relax." The voice advised.

Naruto listened to the voice and let the flood of images take over his mind. And as he relaxed, the old man became clearer and clearer to him until he found himself standing in front of the same tall shinobi with long white hair, purple spiral eyes, and the red marking at the center of his forehead.

Hagoromo sat crosslegged, floating just feet above the actual ground. Several black orbs floated just below him as though holding him up. His eyes pierced through Naruto, reading him from the inside out. And a knowing smile filled his wrinkled face. "It's been so long, Asura... yet here we are once again."

Recognizing the name as the same name that Madara had called him when they were in the Land of Iron, Naruto frowned at the old man. "Who are you? Am I dead?"

"Thou is a sage who has chosen to bind thineself to the natural earth in exchange for access to earth's chakra. For thou, death has a different meaning than for thy ordinary man. As there are many pockets that sit between thine mortal reality and the afterlife, thine find thyself in one." The old man paused, considering the other question. "As for who I am? I have endured many rebirths and gone by many names throughout the centuries, but my original name was Hagoromo Otsutsuki. More recently, thou knowst me as the sage of the six paths."

"Wha?" Naruto asked excitedly. "You mean the guy who created ninjutsu? What the hell are you doing here? And why am I here? And hey, you have the rinnegan! And you seem to know something about this Asura guy, everyone keeps calling me..."

"Wait. Wait. Wait" Interrupting, Hagoromo lifted his hand to Naruto, chuckling a bit. "I should have remembered how exuberant you can be, Asura! Thou must sit a moment. Let me entrust something very important first. Something I've entrusted to thine self several times through history."

"When?" Not sitting down, Naruto demanded, confused. He had never met this man in his life. Was this old geezer going senile or what?

"Thy memory is short." The old man replied. "Now sit."

The old man moved his palm down slightly. And Naruto felt pressure on his shoulder as though a hand was pressing him down. His legs collapsed underneath him and he found himself on his butt.

"Before I was known as the sage of the sixth paths. Before ninjutsu even existed, I was the founder of the ninja creed."

"But that's Ninjutsu? Right?" Naruto prompted.

"NO! The ninja creed is Ninshu! Not to be confused with ninjutsu. Thoust are two separate and opposite entities." Hagoromo became very serious then. His shakujo appeared in his hand. He spun it, dipping the rings at the end of the staff into the water covering the ground. "Thoust lost more memories than I thought. Let me raise your dim light."

"Hey! Did you just call me dim, old man?!" Naruto yelled at the man, ringing a fist. But then he stopped as an image appeared in front of Naruto of a young man, who looked similar but very different than himself. The boy did not look quite human just like the sage, but he felt very familiar to Naruto.

"Forgive me. It's not your fault. I have forgotten that you are just a product of your generation." Hagoromo commented, his voice becoming more familiar and his speech more recognizable. "The old ways become more and more distorted with each cycle. It is my job to understand you better, not the other way around. I can be clearer if I speak to you through your line of reincarnations."

As Hagoromo spoke, his voice sounded distant, but it filled the entire dimension, surrounding Naruto and vitalizing his spirit.

"Since the time when humans set aside ninshu for what is now known as ninjutsu, only those who are able to find a balance in their power… between yin and yang, light and shadow, male and female, sun and moon, positivity and negativity, vitality and stability… are still able to access ninshu in its truest form. Whether the ninja finds this balance within him or herself or through the link with a kindred spirit or soul mate." Hagaromo moved his shakujo and pointed it at Naruto. Naruto felt the connection between them even stronger. He could feel the sincerity and concern in all of the sage's words and not only understand their meaning but the intention behind them too. It was almost as if they were sharing the same emotions. He had only felt like this three times before. The first time, through the binding seal that he shared with Hinata, the second time when he met Itachi in the woods and was placed under his genjutsu, and finally, when he connected with Sasuke not too long ago through their chakra weapons. "Everything humans do is about finding that balance. Whether it is through love or through war. But because the world is so out of balance… this has been a very difficult task, even for the individual. Still... I am pleasantly surprised this time. I can see clearly that you have finally achieved it."

"I haven't." Naruto shook his head, sadly. "The world is still the same."

"I'm not talking about in the rest of the world." Hagoromo replied, bluntly. "I'm talking about within you. Thousands of years ago, when I chose one son over the other, I not only threw them out of balance as brothers but also as individuals. Each son has been attempting to right themselves ever since.

You, the reincarnation of Asura, through love and loyalty, and my older son, Indra, through the acquisition of power. You have finally found a love which has set you back into balance… But this is not complete. Indra must be set in balance as well. This will bring you back together as brothers, because just like with me and my twin, only as brothers can you right the entire world.

The entity that is out there now… is not what the other Indra... the one called Madara thinks it is. He has been tricked by black zetsu, the creature who has become the physical manifestation of my mother's will, and the tablet that Hamura and I left to warn my descendants of the dangerous entity who threatens earth. There was once an old myth about a god who intended to destroy the world. The myth is likely long lost… but that myth was true. The god's name was Kaguya and she was my mother."

Naruto perked up a bit. "Kaguya… as in the Kaguya clan?"

"Yes. She was once loyal, gentle, and kind.. very much like her granddaughter, Airi Otsutsuki, but then a string of events occurred on earth that caused her to become cruel… monstrous even. My brother and I defeated her and hid her husk on the moon with the plan that only both our bloodlines together could summon the statue back to earth in completion. With the use of my rinnegan and Hamura's tenseigan.

Hamura's bloodline was supposed to leave earth to prevent that from ever happening, and to protect the gedo statue on the moon. Unfortunately, after Hamura's death, his descendants on the moon began to kill each other off for the power of tenseigan. Anyone born with the power of the byakugan was a target for their dojutsu. Those who were able to achieve the tenseigan, killed others to keep the power. They all went extinct over a century ago before Madara summoned the first portion of the gedo statue to earth.

The rest of my brother's descendants ended up back on earth through Airi Otsutsuki. By mixing with humans, the pure Otsutsuki bloodline was long ago lost here on earth, but Madara and black zetsu improvised for the loss of the tenseigan by implanting one of his rinnegan in Neji Hyuga. It essentially gave him the power of a false tenseigan… enough to summon the rest of the statue.

But my brother and I were more than thorough. We left another fail safe... in the form of the tablet. The tablet was left in the possession of my descendants, who inherited the sharingan, to warn them against attempting to bring back the rinnegan. If the rinnegan was ever achieved, the entire tablet could be read. It originally told the story of Kaguya and how and why we destroyed her. However, black zetsu tampered with the tablet, so that the sharingan would decipher half of the lie and the rinnegan would decipher the complete lie in order to entice Indra's descendants to want to achieve that power.

The fail safe was that if Hamura's descendants ended up on earth, the byakugan could always see if the tablet were ever tampered with... though they could not decipher it themselves.

Black zetsu attempted to get around this by turning Hamura's descendants on earth against each other. He manipulated the nonbyakugan line into killing off their byakugan relatives, which eventually caused the clan to break. In order to completely separate themselves from the more battle prone bloodline, the Hyuga clan eventually turned away from war and aligned themselves with Indra's descendants' sworn enemies, which would have been the Senju clan.

Once the descendants of both of her sons, myself and my twin brother, call the gedo statue back to earth, there was still the matter of merging Kaguya's three earthly relics with the statue to wake it. The three remnants left of her on earth… wood style, chakra chains, and the ash bone. Of course this was the most difficult part because all three were well hidden in the bloodlines of her descendants. Then her chakra, which I split into the nine tailed beasts, must be bound as one inside of the awakened statue. The ten tails that I harbored was not the pure form. It is a combination of my mother and earth's gods tree. The jinchuuriki who accepts the ten tails must be strong enough to control the beast sealed inside of himself. Then he must be separated from the tree. Once the gods tree is freed, the ten tails will use the power of the moon to reactivate the infinite tsukuyomi. Only then can the gods tree fruit bloom and be consumed, allowing my mother to return.

Madara doesn't realize what he is doing is only to revive my mother. He believes he will achieve the infinite tsukuyomi and through the great genjutsu become an actual god on earth. But that is part of the lie. Because the god brought to earth will not be him, but something much worse whose only intension is to consume everything and leave for another world."

"But the third portion of the legacy that my brother and I left behind, would be the permanent bond between myself and my reincarnated sons. Every time one of you enters this space, I am pulled back to you. Because it is only through you that this immortal being can be stopped.

Still, this time is different in so many ways. And because our connection goes both ways, through you, my young Naruto, I have come to understand my own teachings better. Therefore, this time I will entrust my chakra not only to you, but also to your spiritual brother. The revival of my chakra will grant both of you my powers in equal parts. And together you will have the power to revive every sage who has ever been granted a sage's rebirth. Those chosen to protect the earth should it ever find itself on the brink of death. You and Sasuke will have to seal my mother again."

Hagoromo sighed. "I leave one final word of warning. Even though I am entrusting Sasuke with this power... this does not mean he will not attempt to use it to betray you eventually. The balance between you will be righted but he still has yet to find the balance within himself. So I ask you now... am I right? Should I trust Sasuke?"

"I believe in my friend. You should too." Naruto said with confidence.


	30. Kaguya: Destroyer Of Worlds

Inside the kamui, Obito's breaths became more and more ragged as he barely kept himself upright and from collapsing to the ground. "Tell me now, Madara. What am I to you?"

Standing beside Guy and separated from Obito by Madara, who was standing directly between them, Kakashi thought to himself, good plan Obito, keeping stalling him. We need to wait for exactly the right moment.

Madara laughed. "You have to be kidding right? What kind of stupid question is that? It doesn't matter if you are blood. In fact, your lineage makes me want to revile you even more. You've only ever been one thing to me. You've always been Madara. Just like all my other puppets, you were only spared to serve my will."

"Madara Uchiha is he who rejects this world. All who hold that thought in their heart or who have lived and died to achieve a true and slumbering world are Madara."

"Don't include me in your cult. I never had a choice in the matter. Your path was never the path that I dreamed of following!" Obito gritted his teeth.

"This way of life, created and set in motion by the sage of the sixth paths, has already failed. No one has a choice in the matter. It is just what is." Madara activated his mangekyo sharingan. Obito activated his mangekyo in response. "Have you already forgotten the nature of poor Rin's death. Have you forgotten this world provides nothing but a place for you in pure hell."

Madara watched his descendent with the usual disdain, but this time there was also an edge of barely controlled rage flaring in his eyes."Let me remind you, Obito."

Kakashi watched as Obito visibly struggled against Madara, but the elder Uchiha was stronger. Eventually his legs crumpled underneath him and he fell to his knees.

"Obito!" Kakashi moved to act, but Guy grasped his arm. He spoke to his comrade but he stared down his opponent, Madara. "Kakashi, it's about time you let me handle this. This guy has a target on his be-hine and the bullseye is all mine!"

Guy jumped forward landing in a strong stance just feet away from Madara. "Stand back! 'Cause it's show time for the blue beast!"

He crossed his arms over his face and gripping his fists tightly. "Eight Inner Gates! Seventh Gate of Shock! Open!"

A blue explosion of sweat shook the ground of the Kamui, causing the multi-levels to sway.

Madara scoffed as he dodged Guy's first blow to his head. "One gate below the eighth gate of death, huh? You insult me with this, taijutsu practitioner."

Guy's movements were a blur of blood and sweat. The movements had such speed and power behind them that the entire kamui groaned in response. "Hirudora!" His daytime tiger punch exploded an entire mile radius around him, encompassing Madara in soot and dust.

Madara slide back from the impact, disappearing into the chaos of the punch's impact. Kakashi grabbed Guy as he fell back, holding him up. Guy's body shook with pain. "Are you ok?"

"Fine. Fine. Just a few cracked ribs and a bruised right arm." Guy attempted to smile but it was more like a wince. Kakashi inspected his comrade's arm, which was twisted in an awkward position. Scratching his head, Kakashi commented, "That looks like a bit more than a bruise. Are you sure your arm isn't broken?"

"Always so hasty! Don't you go counting my taijutsu out just yet, Kakashi!"

"But..."

"Our youth hasn't faded! Not yet at least! Don't you lose hope, Kakashi!" Guy commanded, shifting back into a strong stance and pushing through the pain. "There's no giving up here! There's always more work to be done!"

"Wait, you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking?" Kakashi's eyes opened wider. Guy had always been, for a lack of better words, eccentrically overenthusiastic, but this was just down right insane. "That will kill you."

"And a grand death it will be! The wild blue beast is no more! It's time for the red beast to emerge!"

"So you're going to open the eighth gate of death? Aren't you? Guy... no one is asking you to do that." Kakashi looked over at Obito who was still kneeling on the ground under Madara's genjutsu. He was starting to fade.

"Taijutsu works best against this guy and I want to do it." Guy looked over his shoulder at Kakashi. "I'm your equal Kakashi. It's time I started to act like it. What a way to end the greatest rivalry of all time... handwork versus genius. I'm still behind a challenge. And I need this one to tie the scores. Besides, my youth has finally reached its climax. But be sure to tell my student, Lee, it still has yet to burn the brightest of all!"

"Eighth inner gate of death! Open!" Sweat exploded from Guy again this time with enough blood to turn it red.

"Red vapor huh? The blood vapor which is specific to opening all eight gates." Madara commented, impressed. Guy shot at him, moving right through Madara's current position before circling several times in a second. The ground exploded in a large white mushroom cloud. "Sekizo Barrage!"

Kakashi focused on Madara's next position, picking him up in the transportation jutsu and moving him right into Guy's path. The first hit, froze Madara in place, and then Guy went for a second, third, and fourth. Coughing up blood, Madara was flattened into the ground.

Guy landed feet away, red sweat still spraying from his body. He watched as Madara lay sprawled on the ground, but after a minute he still got back up, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"How did you get up from the sekizo barrage?" Guy demanded.

"You're the first since Hashirama to make me this excited." Madara's eyes gleamed with a malicious madness. "You can still dance can't you, taijutsu master? I want to see what other moves you have up your sleeve."

Abruptly, Madara's mood shifted and he stood up straight. "But this will have to wait."

He disappeared from the kamui.

* * *

"Naruto!" Hinata cried, as Naruto's body fell limply back into her arms. She began to shake him gently but was receiving no response. "Wake up! Wake up please!"

Dread filled the pit of her stomach for she knew better than anyone what had just happened. She could feel his chakra dwindling away by the second. She could feel him weakening and the portion of him that was just ripped from his body, reeked havoc on her own body, causing her to shake with Naruto's pain. Frantically looking around, she yelled, weakly for help, "Sakura?! Sakura... where are you?"

Sakura ran to Naruto's side and began to work. "Ok. He's still breathing, but it's shallow..."

She continued to scan his body. "It's as if all of his chakra was drawn out of his body with the nine tails. He'll die soon if I can't do something to reverse his chakra levels quickly."

"I can give him some of mine." Wiping the sweat from her brow and pulling herself together, Hinata gasped out. "Through the binding seal."

Attempting to steady her rigorous body to focus on Naruto, Hinata closed her eyes and began to share her chakra with him, just as he had always done for her. Sakura placed a hand on Hinata's arm reassuringly. "It's a bit better, but... he needs more."

"I"ll give him whatever he needs. Just save him!" Hinata began to transfer more chakra, faster. But she could feel herself becoming dizzy now. She was close to passing out. And her own reserves were growing increasingly lower while Naruto's still seemed to be near empty.

Minute approached and placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder, reassuringly. "Don't worry. You've done enough. I will release and seal the half of the nine tails inside of me into Naruto. That will be enough chakra."

Sasuke grabbed the reanimation's hand and indicated the two young women. After coughing up a fair amount of blood, he weakly stated, "If you release the nine tails now, that tree out there will try to consume them too."

"Do it." Hinata looked directly in Minato's eyes. "Whatever it takes to save him."

"I agree." Sakura backed Hinata up. She shifted a bit. "Naruto is our hope... He is the only thing that has kept everyone going this long. The rest of us are expendable, we can't lose him. But I need to look at Sasuke, real quick first."

Then Naruto's voice traveled softly towards them. "No. I won't allow you to do it, Dad. Keep Hinata and Sakura safe... for me."

Naruto's body went limp again as he lost consciousness.

* * *

After emerging from the kamui, Madara stood impatiently waiting as the ten tails was sealed inside of him. His body was still aching and bruised from Guy's attack but Hashirama's cells had almost completely healed Obito's body in the time it took for the sealing. He sneered down at his last standing subordinate. "It took you long enough to show back up."

Black Zetsu had appeared in his true form, standing like a blob shaped as a small man with the rinngan still implanted at the center of what should have been his face. "I had to make sure it was exactly the right time. Besides you were busy inside the kamui for most of it."

After Black Zetsu finished sealing the ten tails inside of Madara. He stated. "That should be enough to make sure your body host never returns again."

"That's what you said the first time when we smashed his pathetic heart into several pieces. But I should have known he was resilient. He is my great great grandson after all." Then Madara sneered at his next thought. "And at the same time annoyingly devoted too... he gets that from his great great grandmother's side."

"This time you are much more powerful though." Black zetsu said, commenting on the six paths transformation that the ten tails caused in Madara. Whitening his skin and hair and hardening his skin. Several truth seeking balls now followed him like spinning orbs.

"Is that so? Now give me, my eye." As Madara approached zetsu, he noticed an enormous red light speeding towards him out of the corner of his eye. He paused, turning just in time to take the full impact of the Night Guy. The blow of the kick tore through Madara's body. Even with Hashirama's cells and the ten tails, Madara's body was ripped to shreds. The recoil of the kick shattered most of the bones in Guy's body and ignited a spontaneous combustion. Guy dropped where he stood into a pile of ashes.

* * *

Sasuke stood quietly in front of the sage of the six pathes, watching with expressionless eyes as the old man spoke to him. "Well you certainly ask less questions... or should I say, none at all."

"I have none." Sasuke responded bluntly.

"Not even if you're currently dead?"

"If I did die, I'm certain you wouldn't be wasting your time speaking to me."

"Huh!" Hagoromo raised an irritated eyebrow. "I forgot how much you think you know. But I can see in you that you already realize who you are... Indra, my oldest son. And just like every other Indra, you were handed far too much far too early. It's made you expect everything to always come easily, seeking temporary shortcuts instead of walking a true footworn path. Isolating yourself and relying on your own power instead of the cooperation of formed bonds. Though... like your spiritual brother, this time I see something different in you. Do you know who I'm referring to? The other reincarnation, who has lived out the will of my youngest son."

Sasuke had heard this story many times as a child from his father. And then again from Madara years later. Madara had referred to Sasuke as the most recent Indra and Naruto as Asura. At the time Sasuke thought this was a ploy to place Madara's own failed rivalry with Hashirama on Sasuke's shoulders, but now it seemed like Madara had actually been intuitive. "Naruto."

"It seems that even after leaving behind old bonds, this time you have chosen to seek out and rely on new bonds." Hagoromo moved his staff to intensifying the connection between himself and Sasuke. "You have understood your limitations and chosen to surround yourself with those who could make you stronger."

"If you are referring to Taka, they are just subordinates..."

"It doesn't matter!" Hagoromo stated, sharply. "They have been loyal to you because they consider you a comrade and a friend. And there have been times... though very few, when you took their wellbeing into consideration above everything else because they meant the same to you. This is a deviation."

"Ok, so now what?" Sasuke asked, skeptically.

"So now, today I will right the balance, by entrusting you with the other half of my chakra."

* * *

"You're going to have to take in the gods tree first, along with all of the chakra it has consumed, in order to regenerate fast enough to control the second rinnegan." Black Zetsu stated, after he assessed Madara's current situation.

Madara had been able to reform his legs with Hashirama's cells and the six paths chakra from the ten tails. He stood up and walked to the enormous roots of the tree, beginning the process of sealing it inside of himself. Black Zetsu assisted by forming himself into Madara's arms. "We need to hurry. There is something coming, I can sense it and it is powerful."

* * *

Both Naruto and Sasuke awoke at the same time, sitting up as though they were not just dying on the ground from their wounds a few seconds earlier.

"Naruto!" Hinata threw her arms around Naruto's neck, squeezing so tight she almost choked him. She blushed. "Oh sorry."

"Its ok. Do that as much as you want to, Hinata." Naruto hugged her back. Hinata took his hand, running her fingers over the sun that now sat in his palm and then the five small seals over the back.

"What are these?" Hinata asked as Naruto intertwined his fingers between her fingers. The seals on the back of his hand were very similar to the seal that sat at the base of her neck.

"Oh some friends gave them to me! Just in case I needed to call on their help sometime." Naruto replied.

Sakura looked back and forth between her two teammates. "How is this even possible? You both should be dead. Now all of a sudden, it's like nothing even happened."

Roughly, she grabbed Sasuke's shirt and opened it, looking for the wound which was now completely gone with the exception of a small scar. She traced the scar with her finger. "You were just bleeding out..."

Sasuke did not impede Sakura's examination but he also did not answer any of her questions. He looked up at Minato. "You can release the nine tails now. That tree is gone... at least for now."

Minato deactivated his beast mode and the chakra that surround them dissipated. He knelt down next to Naruto. "I'm going to entrust you with the rest of the nine tails chakra. So when you defeat Madara, Kurama will be complete."

Naruto nodded as his father released the rest of Kurama's chakra into him. "I can sense that you have grown even more powerful since you have come back to us. I won't ask what happened since there isn't time, but just know both your mother and I are immensely proud of the man who you've become. You've achieved more than we ever dreamed for you."

Throwing his arms around his father, Naruto hugged Minato. "Thanks Dad. For everything."

That's when Madara appeared from behind a massive hill of rubble. He was dragging a limp body behind him in his right hand and he carried his shakujo in his left hand. "Awww... your sensei, Kakashi, wanted to come join this joyous reunion. So I thought I'd bring him."

Naruto stood up, realizing the body being dragged was Kakashi's body. Madara sneered, kicking Kakashi's body towards them. "No more pesky do gooders accessing Obito's kamui."

"Is he dead?" Naruto asked as Sakura ran to examine their sensei.

"No, he's unconscious but still breathing. Madara took his left eye." Sakura informed him. Naruto knelt down next to Kakashi and placed his hand over his left eye.

"That should help." He said when he was down. Sakura examined Kakashi again, finding his eye intact now. When she looked up at Naruto in shock, he shrugged. "I guess that's one of my new abilities."

"Why would I waste my time killing him. That was what my subordinates were for... granted they failed, but this will do." Madara sent his truth seeking balls flying. Naruto stood up and threw himself in front of Sakura and Kakashi. He slid forward, meeting the four orbs coming his direction with multiple kicks and a punch which sent them spinning off in the other direction. Sasuke disappeared, reappearing just to the side of the orbs paths, before slamming them down in to the ground.

"How are you able to touch my truth seeking balls?" Madara narrowed his eyes at them. He noted there was something different about their chakra. And Sasuke now appeared to have a rinngean in his left eye. How was that possible? Both of Sasuke's eyes were supposed to be in Itachi.

"Hinata! Sakura!" Naruto yelled at them. "Get back!"

Sakura scoffed. "Don't worry about us."

"This will just take a second." She made several hand seals summoning a smaller version of Katsuyu which she slapped onto Hinata's back. She met eyes with Hinata and then nodded. Making more hand seals and concentrating she released her chakra reserve seal. Black lines wound down from her head across her entire body. From Katsuyu's position on Hinata's back, the black lines wound up and down her entire body as well. Sakura looked over at Naruto. "You can share more of your chakra with her now. Her body is just as resilient as yours."

Hinata activated her byakugan as she felt a surge of chakra through the binding seal. She was able to see everything now, as if she had already tapped into her fractured sight. She was even able to see things that were not supposed to be seen by anyone. She warned, "there are several other Madaras hidden around him. Be careful."

"They appear to be shadows. I see them too." Sasuke confirmed, using his rinnegan to see Madara's limbo jutsu. There were a total of six surrounding Madara, completely invisible to a normal eye. Naruto activated his six paths chakra. "Now I sense them."

"Planetary devastation." Madara clapped his hands together and the ground around them broke up floating to the sky and creating several large asteroids. Forming his truth seeking balls into a large disc, he stepped onto it and was carried up through the descending asteroids. "Now what? Are you coming after me? Or will you save the earth from this oncoming disaster?"

"Hinata and I will hold the shadows..." Naruto instructed. "Sasuke and Sakura, you need to break down those asteroids as quickly as possible."

Sasuke sniffed. "Don't let the fact that I'm actually listening to you go to your head Naruto."

Naruto snickered and created two shadow clones. "And I'm sending you two to supervise!"

"Oh shut up!" Sasuke and Sakura yelled in unison.

Madara rose up into the night sky, above the chaos below. "I have the rinnegan and I have consumed the gods tree's fruit. Now it is time to activate the infinite tsukuyomi."

A voice that was deep but almost sounded feminine entered his mind. "When you come close enough to the moon, an eye will open in the center of your forehead called the rinne sharingan. You must shine it upon the moon's surface to activate this power. Keep you head Madara. You are so close to your goal."

Approaching the moon, Madara smiled deliciously as he felt the eye open at the center of his forehead. With the activation of this new power, the moon changed becoming redder with multiple rings and tome etched across it. Madara felt the power surge through him as the voice cackled madly in his mind. "Now Become One!"

Sasuke's Susanoo dropped from the sky with Sakura in tow, covering Naruto, Hinata, and Kakashi on the ground.

As Sakura fell from the Susanoo to the ground, Sasuke appeared in time to catch her. Finding herself suddenly in Sasuke's arms, she looked at him warily. "Thank you."

Without a response, Sasuke placed her back down on her feet before encountering Naruto's wrath.

"Wait! What's going on out there!" Naruto demanded. "What was that bright light? You always abruptly changing the plan without telling me!"

"If you go back out there, you will be caught in Madara's genjutsu." Sasuke stated. "The Susanoo will block it out, but we can't risk saving anyone else. You heard what the old man said. You and I need to live if there is any hope."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. The idea of allowing all of his friends, comrades, and everyone who had fought by his side in this war to become sacrifices did not sit well with Naruto. He knew this was how Sasuke's mind worked, but he always subscribed to the thought that everyone could and should be saved, no matter what. Hinata placed a hand on Naruto's arm and squeezed. "It will be ok. They are not dead. Just temporarily asleep."

* * *

After the white light of the infinite tsukuyomi subsided, Madara stood waiting outside of the Susanoo as Sasuke released its power. "You can run and you can hide, but you can't win. By coming out of that Susanoo, you have essentially handed over your lives to me."

Crossing his arms over his chest, he smiled down at them maliciously. "There is nothing you can do. I hold all of the power! I am the savior of this world! Those many years ago... after I failed to persuade Hashirama and the rest of the village to see things my way, I was led to the old stone tablet that contained this all powerful Uchiha jutsu. It was left to us by the sage of the sixth paths directly to unite the world under an Uchiha leader and to bring about the long awaited peace!"

"The stone tablet was just a bunch of lies!" Naruto yelled up at him. "Black zetsu tampered with it in order to trick you!"

Madara looked down at Naruto incredulously. "Black zetsu is my creation. He couldn't..."

A large black limb, crawled out of the front of Madara's chest, wrapping around him and constricting his throat. Zetsu's deep voice scoffed. "I am not your creation. You are mine. You are nothing more than a pawn. A long and tedious lab experiment just like all of the rest. Madara is he who lives to further Kaguya's will. He who has no idea that he has spent most of his life being used."

Black zetsu taunted and cackled at Madara as he screamed in agony. An enormous tear ripped into the atmosphere. It sucked Madara in like a vacuum until he disappeared.

Another hole opened up where Madara disappeared and out of the hole slid a beautiful woman, with long white hair, pure white skin, and large white eyes which shined with an alluring innocence. She had blood red lips and long rabbit ears stood on the top of her head.

"Kaguya." Naruto and Hinata said the name in unison. Naruto looked down at her. "You know old man six paths's mother?"

Hinata looked back at him with almost an identical set of big white eyes. She looked scared. "In my clan there is an old superstition that if you kill a rabbit, Kaguya will steal your soul and imprison it inside the moon. She is called the rabbit goddess. All Hyuga children are scared to death of her."

Naruto looked back up at the woman. She did not look that formidable. She looked more like one of those china dolls that sat in the antique shop window. Then her hair moved. It struck at them like snakes, wrapping itself around both him and Sasuke and constricting. The woman spoke then. "Ahhh... how precious. I see I am surrounded by all of my grandchildren today. Asura, Indra, and Airi."

Pulling Naruto and Sasuke towards her, she continued. "But you two have the power of my twin sons within you. Therefore you two must die."

Sasuke activated his rinnegan. Another intangible copy of himself appeared in front of Kaguya. He slammed his fist into her stomach and pulled something out. As he did this the scene shifted and they were all in another dimension. The ground turned into a large chasm with boiling lava at its pit.

Kaguya dropped Naruto and Sasuke from her grasp as though discarding trash in a trash bin. Sasuke summoned his hawk, who swooped down and rescued Sasuke and Naruto from the fall. Sasuke's echo became tangible as he took in the chakra that he stole from Kaguya. Repeating the summoning jutsu, the hawk caught Sakura, Hinata, and Kakashi.

"I've secured our only way out of this." Sasuke informed Naruto. "This new eye allows me to transport minutes into the future which kicks back an echo of myself into real time from that alternate timeline."

"She's going to separate you. Use me to open another portal." The echo informed Sasuke and Naruto.

Kaguya's hand appeared from the space behind Sasuke, he dodged it but his hawk was hit by flying bony rods. Multiple chakra points were closed causing it to fall from the air. Sasuke transported himself to one of Naruto's truth seeking balls to hang on. But Kaguya opened another portal in that same location and snatched Sasuke's collar, tossing him to another dimension.

"Now you are separated. Just like my twin boys... you cannot use your power against me apart." Kaguya turned towards Naruto. She shifted them to another dimension with jagged icy mountains and endless falling snow. "Next to get rid of you. After I absorb your chakra... or should I say my chakra."

Kaguya's voice could be heard but she could not be seen among the swirl of winter. The mountains rose up crushing Naruto between them like a canine's jaw. The ice began to overtake his body, attempting to put out the fire in his illuminated chakra.

His clone caught Hinata after she fell through the air as Sasuke's hawk disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kakashi caught Sakura, placing her on her feet on the ground. "Who is he?"

Sakura looked curiously at the tall scarred man who now stood in the place of Sasuke's echo. Hinata smiled and said, "Obito?"

"This echo will only last for so long. But since it does not exist in any fixed plane or time, Sasuke was able to use it as a medium to connect his sharingan to my kamui temporarily with the piece of my chakra that he rescued from Kaguya. When she opens another portal, I can resonate my kamui and use it to transport to another dimension. Hopefully Sasuke will be there." Obito looked over at the four shinobi. "But I will need more chakra. This is not enough. And once this chakra runs out, the echo will dissolve."

"Use my chakra reserve." Sakura volunteered. "If I connect by touch, I should be able to transfer even more chakra to you then through Lady Katsuyu."

"That may work. But we would have to get close enough to her to stow away in one of her portals."

"I can distract her." Naruto's clone replied. "Let me go first!"

"No. Let me walk in front." Obito stated. "I am already a dead man. I am the expendable one. It was because I was not strong enough to fight off Madara years ago that we are here. I've been a passive observer for far too long. I want to leave something to this world before I die."

"Place your hands on me." Obito instructed. "The jump could come at any time."

They watched as Kaguya flew at the real Naruto. He called upon Kokuo, the five tails, invoking vapor style: unrivaled strength and allowing his chakra to reach boiling point. The ice and rock melted and broke around him, freeing him from the prison. He met the enormous chain that she sent to bind his chakra with an enhanced punch similar to Guy's daytime tiger. Kaguya flew back, knocked inside a nearby mountain.

Naruto made the hand seals for his multi clone jutsu as Kaguya appeared from the mountain. She sent several chains this time, destroying several clones in seconds. The real Naruto appeared out of the chaos, but his punch was blocked. Another clone kicked her in the shoulder and another in the back. Several more appeared, forcing her to open another portal to dodge the barrage of attacks.

Kaguya reappeared in the ice dimension only a few minutes later. She frowned creating the first expression on her face in over a thousand years.

"How is this possible mother?" Black zetsu asked from inside of her sleeve. They had felt three follow them to the root dimension which connected all five dimensions together. But only one made it. Kaguya assumed this one was the real Naruto and killed him with her ash bone killing jutsu. But upon returning to the ice world, all of his clones still remained intact.

"The real me, never made it through!" Naruto yelled at her.

Black zetsu scoffed. "So you fooled us... those were all clones."

"Yep!" Naruto stated with a sly grin. Of course, they weren't all clones. Two had been Sakura and Obito who hid by slipping away into the kamui.

Meanwhile in the root dimension, Sakura and Obito exited the kamui and searched for Sasuke. And finally after opening a portal into a dimension covered in desert, they found him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called urgently through the portal to gain his attention. Sasuke turned and came running towards the open portal. Just as portal closed, he activated his rinnegan, transporting himself and remerging with his echo.

Passing out, Sakura fell forward onto Sasuke's shoulder. "No... Sasuke..."

"I made it." Sasuke said as he turned his head slightly towards her ear. Sakura opened her green eyes and sighed with relief. "Thank god."

"I should still have enough of Obito's chakra left to get us back." Sasuke stood up and put his arm around Sakura's waist so he was supporting her. "Hold on to me."

* * *

"Eeeewww! Mother these two just won't give up!" Black Zetsu complained as Naruto managed to create several diversions that both Zetsu and his mistress fell for. Then suddenly, Sasuke reappeared again and the creature was starting to get nervous as their plan to split them up had not worked. His voice became insistent. "Mother... I think we're going to have to proceed full force with our chakra."

Kaguya shifted to another dimension. This time with heavy gravity, holding Sasuke and Naruto to the ground. Naruto attempted to move his hands to make clones but he could barely get his arms up off the ground. Kaguya set up on her knees and aimed her ash bones at them, ready to skewer both of them.

Sasuke activated his rinnegan and an echo appeared just feet from them to the right. "You need to dodge!"

Naruto and Sasuke were able to dodge the first rod, but Kaguya was already setting up to shoot two more from her palms. The echo ran forward towards Sasuke's position, while Kakashi ran forward towards Naruto's position, ready to protect them from the next set of ash bone rods.

The rod hit the echo through the abdomen turning it to ash, but the rod in front of Kakashi disappeared. He looked up in shock into Obito's face. "There was still just enough of me left to protect my legacy. You must live, Kakashi. Because when she is defeated and my body is recovered, I entrust you with my sharingan again. Both of them. There is no one else who I trust more. To become hokage and complete my dream. This death is worthy. And I'll just tell Rin that I got delayed because I stopped along the way to help you."

He smiled at Kakashi before turning to look at Hinata. "Thank you too..."

The body dissolved to ash, Sasuke's echo remerging with his body. He transported again, this time above Kaguya, aiming his chidori down at her head.

The dimension shifted again. This time back to the pink rolling hills of the root dimension. Naruto shifted his truth seeking balls to two enormous rods which moved with the same speed as Sasuke's transportation jutsu, ripping onto Kaguya's left arm and separating her from black Zetsu. The rods pinned the creature to the ground.

"Now we split you two up. No more manipulations." Naruto took a step forward. "It's time you faced us head on."

Naruto drew on the chakra in the five seals on his hand, infusing each into one of his clones. The real Naruto pulled from Kurama's chakra. "Tailed beast rasengan!"

All six tailed beast chakra balls slammed into Kaguya sending her flying back in a huge explosion. But when the dust and soot cleared she was still unscathed.

Hinata and Sakura looked at each other. "How is that possible?"

Absorbing all of the chakra that Naruto just tossed in her direction, Kaguya expanded taking on the form of an enormous seven headed rabbit. The rabbit reached its head back creating an even larger ball of dense black chakra. Naruto and Sasuke flew towards each other. "Now!"

Their palms clapped together releasing a huge blast of chakra. Shadows seeped up from cracks in the ground of the root dimension, ripping it apart. Hinata and Sakura held onto each other as the ground shattered underneath them. Kakashi ran towards them but was stopped along the way as a familiar face appeared up out of the ground right next to him.

The glowing blue form placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulders reassuringly. "Don't worry, Kakashi. We got this!"

Thumbs up and a shine from the bright smile within his large white mane, the shadow floated up following the others.

An enormous tree appeared, as both Hinata and Sakura felt themselves lift up in the air and settled safely in a set of branches that crisscrossed like two enormous arms. The shadow smiled down at them from within long straight dark hair and wore traditional armor that were decades out of fashion. "Stay here young ones. You'll be safe."

Sakura frowned up at the shadow and demanded, "Who are you?"

The shadow chuckled and said, "You remind me of my granddaughter." Before floating away with the others. The shadows rushed Kaguya's monstrous rabbit. They drained and sealed chakra from her as she attempted to absorb more from her root dimension. She was forced to shift back to her usual shape to escape but found herself in the path of Hashiromo's tree as it's branches and roots reached out and pushed her back.

Hinata and Sakura looked at each, realizing the tree was attempting to force her back towards Naruto and Sasuke. "She's going to attempt to open another portal to try and get away again. We should help."

"My baykugou is used up, but I know we can do this." Sakura smiled. "Let's just hope she doesn't kill us."

They both took off along the growing tree branches, racing towards Kaguya. Leaping down from above her, Sakura fell behind her and hit her both her shoulders with a paralysis genjutsu to prevent her from being able to aim for ash bone for a few seconds. Not long after Hinata fell in front of her, slamming the butt of her palm into the center of her chest contorting the chakra network and causing blood to rush through the nearby large blood vessels rupturing cardiac muscle. They both fell further, only to be caught by some lower branches beneath.

The opening portal closed as more tree branches wrapped themselves around Kaguya dragging her into the path of the Naruto and Sasuke. Once their palms hit her body, the shadows of the former sages forced their way into her body pushing out all of the chakra that she stole.

As the sealing completed, Kaguya screamed in agony as her own body unleashed a massive amount of chakra, distorting her body into a mass of dense chakra. One by one each of the nine tailed beast pulled themselves from this mass dropping to the ground. Gyuki, Shukaku, Matatabi and Isobu each began to cough as they reached the ground. They coughed until they each spit out a body. First Yamato, then Neji, Masuku, and Itachi. Last but not least, Kurama growled and pulled back his head and spat Madara out hard against a nearby cliff, causing a shallow indention.

"Kurama!" Hinata chided the nine tailed beast. "Be careful that's still Obito's body remember."

"The true Obito is already gone." Kakashi put his hand on Hinata's shoulder. He walked over to the body and removed both sharingan from Obito's body like he promised.

"By the way." Naruto scratched his head, joining the group as they watched Kaguya sealed within a massive sphere as big as the moon. "How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

Then suddenly they were all standing back on the crumbled remains of the cliffs by the beach. The summoning had happened so quickly that none of them realized what happened.

"Wait! Wha? How'd we get back here?" Naruto looked around, confused.

"All dimensions are connected to those no longer bound to the living world." Hagoromo stated from his position at the center of the circle. Jiraiya's shadow stood next to him smiling smugly. "I told him to just do it without any warning! HA! HA!"

From the other side, Hashirama's shadow leaned forward and looked at Jiraiya. "Who made the decision to give him a sage's rebirth?"

"The power of the sages who returned to fight along side of you have summoned all of you back to your own world." Hagoromo explained, indicating the tailed beast, the five unconscious bodies, and the five shinobi standing in front of him.

"You have succeeded in sealing my mother. Now it is time to finish the last of your line of reincarnations. Madara is an unworthy sage. He will not be granted a rebirth. His soul will not crossover into the pure land. His body must be sealed back into the earth where it belongs. Once he and his rinnegan are sealed, the Infinite Tsukuyomi will be released." Hagoromo looked at Naruto and Sasuke.

Hagoromo looked over at the four unconscious bodies who lay on the ground. "I will leave it up to you on how to deal with my mother's remains. Being within my mother's body has changed each of them greatly and given them an unexplainable amount of power which will need to be protected. It may be best if they leave this world for good. But I leave it to your discretion on how this will be handled."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks.

"Lastly, I will release the remaining reanimation jutsu and free the souls of those trapped here, so if you have any last words to say... this would be the time." Hagoromo looked over at Minato who waited for his son on the outside of the circle. Naruto leapt the distance between them, landing at his father's feet. He opened his mouth to speak, but Minato smiled and said, "We'll say good bye for now, Naruto. In the mean time, I'll tell your mother everything, I promise."

"Tell her not to worry! I've made it to seventeen alright I think. I'm eating and bathing and brushing my teeth... I've made lots of friends despite a few bad years at the beginning. I was really awful at school... and I still haven't passed my ninja exams, but I'm working on it and doing my best! I know I can do it! Oh! My girlfriend Hinata makes sure I eat more than just ramen, and she is really nice. We're supposed to get married in a year and tell mom that I'll make sure she has a really nice wedding 'cause despite all my rough edges I know how to be a gentleman. I learned all that stuff from Lord Third and Iruka Sensei and Kakashi Sensei and... well, Master Jiriaya didn't really teach me much in that department but he taught me lots about the three prohibitions of shinobi... ok don't tell her that... Tell her he was an awesome sannin and I respected him the most. And because of him, I'm going to be an even greater hokage than you, Dad, one day! I swear I will! Please tell her everything!"

As Minato drifted away, he smiled and said, "Got it... I'll tell her everything."

They stood and watched as the other reanimations drifted away and the sages blurred to shadows returning to their resting spots. Hagoromo turned to the nine tailed beasts next. "What will the nine of you do?"

Most of the tailed beasts decided to return to wilderness where they could find some peace and quiet. But Gyuki had become attached to Killer Bee and would have missed his company. Kurama was hesitant to answer, looking down at Naruto silently.

Hagoromo spoke for him. "Five of you have already entrusted Naruto as your caretaker and sealed a small piece of your chakra to him. If the other three are willing to do the same, Naruto can be the place where you meet when you need to interact with one another. Kurama can be the guardian of this place... it will need his strength to protect it."

Kurama shrugged and sighed reluctantly, attempting to look not so pleased. "I guess that means I have to stay with you, kid. Old man's orders. So no need to keep that promise about freeing me. It's a pain but some one has to do it."

"Oh give it up Kurama! You know you love me!" Naruto chuckled up at the nine tailed fox. The other tailed beasts laughed and began to tease him too.

"Oh shut up!" Kurama growled.

Hagoromo floated away from the center of the circle, levitating himself above Madara's body. The body flew upward landing in Hagoromo's arms as he sunk into the earth. Before he disappeared he said, "as for the two you. You will be the caretakers of my chakra from now on. That means together, it will be up to you how it is passed on and when to use it again to revive the guardians of this earth. I plan to go in peace knowing that it is in safe hands."

* * *

With the exception of Yamato, Itachi and the shinobi's who possessed Kaguya's remnants disappeared while the victims of the infinite tsukuyomi were released and revived.

Without a word, Sasuke went after them alone. He had no intention of letting his brother slip away. Naruto let him go. He planned to leave that particular decision to his other half.

An hour later, Naruto found Sasuke standing on the overlook of the final valley. He opened his mouth to say something but Sasuke beat him to it. "What happened to that creature? Black Zetsu? Did you get rid of him?"

"Oh yeah. I went back to make sure he was sealed with Kaguya." Naruto stated. He turned up his nose. "He was a nasty piece of work. Called me the scum of history, ya know."

Naruto looked around the woods. "And Itachi? Where is he?"

Sasuke stood for awhile without responding. "Itachi is still far more skilled with genjutsu than I will ever be... He's long gone with Sabui and Masuku."

Just an hour earlier, Sasuke found Itachi waiting for him in the woods below the cliffs and the waterfall. They looked at each other with matching but opposite eyes. Each with one of the remaining rinnegan in one eye and their own restored sharingan in the other. "All four of us have been burdened with dangerous powers that are going to be hunted. Captain Yamato wishes to remain behind as part of the leaf. But the three of us have no place in that world. We need to stick together to protect these jutsu and to keep them out of the hands of others like Madara. I've hidden Shisui's sharingan in a safe place as well. But it is too dangerous to keep both rinnegan together and you need to stay closer to your other half now, little brother. So this is where we have to part ways again."

"Where will you go?" Sasuke inquired turning his hardened eyes away from Itachi. He finally had his brother back, and now Itachi was trying to tell him that they may never see each other again.

"I've heard about a place of enlightenment at the far edge of the world." Itachi explained. "I plan to take them there. Maybe we can live separately and peace there."

Itachi could feel the anger and disappointment churning inside of Sasuke and he knew exactly what his brother was thinking. Walking forward, Itachi moved his hand up towards Sasuke's face and place his index and middle finger on his forehead. Through the simple touch, Sasuke felt the warmth and sincerity radiating from his older brother. It swaddled him, melting the anger away. "Don't be angry little brother. This is just like when we were young and I never had time for you. You don't understand now, but you will understand everything later. I leave the safety of the village in your hands now."

"Big brother!" Sasuke's stoic face fell into a faucet of emotion. He grabbed hold of his brother's shirt collar, ready to restrain him to prevent Itachi from leaving him behind. "No way! I won't let you leave again!"

Itachi did not struggle, allowing Sasuke to pull his collar tighter. He said, "don't try to follow us, little brother. We are already gone."

A flock of crows descended from the sky obscuring Itachi's form until he completely disappeared.

End of Part I


	31. Home Is Where The Heart Lies

Part II: Years of the Blank Period

warning: based on the fact that the majority of the chapters in this part are set outside of the village and focus on only four main characters (Naruto, Hinata, Sakura and Sasuke), there will be a lot of sasusaku mixed in... so skim over if not a fan

* * *

Home Is Where The Heart Lies

"Oh Naruto! You are just the best! My hero!" A blonde kunoichi threw a hand across her forehead before passing out dramatically into Naruto's arms. She opened one eye after he caught her and commented slyly, "Aren't your arms soooo strong!"

Recognizing the girl from the ninja academy, he looked down at her in surprise, just as three more girls threw themselves at him. The last time this particular girl spoke to him, she was yelling at him to get out of her sight line to Sasuke.

"Thank you. Thank you." Naruto replied giddily. He was not certain how to respond to all of this intense attention. Though a little voice in the back of his head said, 'help me', he thought it might be a little impolite if he just turned and ran.

He could feel Hinata nearby though she was not among the mob of young women who had come out into the street to greet him as he left the hokage's office. He had not seen her in almost three days, not since the memorial for Inoichi, Shikaku, Might Guy, and the many other leaf ninja who had given their lives during the war.

The next few days were filled by requests for meetings with the other kage and their entourages, with Kakashi who was officially named the sixth hokage, and with all of those who were still opposed to pardoning Sasuke for his part in Madara's crimes. So in between embarrassed replies to his admirers, he searched for her frantically in the crowded street.

Noting the commotion at the center of the village, Hinata followed the others to greet Naruto but kept to the back with the less aggressive onlookers. She wanted to run to him and throw her arms around his neck too, but she hesitated not wanting to ruin his moment. He had been waiting for it for so long. This was what Naruto dreamed of from the very first moment she met him. To be acknowledged by the village like his father. To be admired by his peers like Sasuke. To be accepted completely and without question like her clan had always done for her. She wanted to cry for him, she was so happy.

Wiping her eyes, she backed up into something hard. Surprised she looked behind her and up into Sasuke's face as he too stood watching Naruto and his mob of adoring fans. She quickly said, "Oh… sorry, Sasuke. I didn't realize they released you... I'm so glad."

"Naruto seems to be searching for someone." Sasuke commented, ignoring Hinata's observation about his recent release from Konoha's prison. "I'm guessing that someone would be you."

Hinata looked away from Sasuke and back at Naruto, who quickly locked eyes with her, smiled, and waved, despite being pulled in about three different directions at the same time.

"I told him once that his reliance on that clone jutsu revealed his greatest weakness. His loneliness." Sasuke continued. "But after he was sealed to you, he created less and less clones. I was jealous. Because how could a loser like him have someone who loved him that much?"

Hinata followed where Sasuke was looking and came upon Sakura, who stood on the side of the street with her arms crossed over her chest, scowling at Naruto's admirers. She no longer approved of fangirls.

He breathed. "People call Naruto a numbskull. But he figured it out way before I did."

Hinata smiled up at him and said lightly. "I would have waited for Naruto even if he never realized how much I loved him. Sakura and I are a lot alike when it comes to that."

Sasuke nodded, quietly.

When she turned back to find Naruto in the crowd again, he was gone. She frowned. Where did he disappear to so quickly?

Then a calling seal opened up next to her. She smiled and said, "See ya Sasuke." But he was already halfway across the street and headed to Sakura. She jumped into the seal.

* * *

Naruto twirled Hinata's hair around his finger as she lay on top of his chest. They were leaning back against a tree in the middle of the Hyuga clan's gardens after eating a picnic lunch that Hinata spent the morning preparing.

It was mid afternoon and the sky above was bright blue without a cloud in sight. The colorful flower garden sparkled in the sunlight around their shady spot under a tall cherry blossom tree. Naruto contently dipped his other hand into the cool water of the main family's small coy pond. As beautiful as this place was, Naruto still only had eyes for the girl who snored lightly against him, as everything else always paled in comparison to her. He had been reading to Hinata when she drifted off to sleep, and though he was supposed to be meeting with Kakashi and Iruka about his plans for studying for his ninja level exams, he did not have the heart to wake her.

He wanted to take Hinata to the local park and sit on the bench by the pond, where as a kid, he often sat with Jiraiya and shared a popsicle on a hot summer afternoon like this one. And then years later, the bench became his and Hinata's spot, where they liked to watch the evening stars come out before heading their separate ways for the night. Naruto figured that Jiraiya would appreciate nothing more than him using their old place as a make out spot. There were moments when he could almost hear his old master giving him pointers in his ear.

But since returning to the village, they had been forced to give up their spot to stay hidden within the Hyuga compound. As soon as the young couple attempted to venture out into public lately, they were mobbed and separated by villagers wanting to speak to Naruto. As usual, Hinata was a good sport about it, but Naruto felt miserable every time their plans were ruined by his newly earned fame.

So now their spot was hidden behind the walls of the Hyuga compound, where no one cared about the hero of village, and they still treated him like the same old Naruto Uzumaki (better known as Lady Hinata's fiance among the Hyuga clan).

Of course, Naruto had to sneak out of his apartment in cognito to even reach the Hyuga compound across the village.

The village paparazzi waited outside of his home, day and night like predators stalking their prey, and the konoha press was known to be as stealthy as the leaf shinobi themselves. The few times he tried to sneak out as himself, he was caught, and he missed seeing Hinata that day. They had already caught on to the use of shadow clones as decoys, planting themselves in enough spots around the village to catch any of the Narutos who happened to pass by.

But the disguises had been working so far. And for some strange reason, Kakashi had an entire closet full of various costumes, wigs, and facial augmentations, even a fake mole, which Naruto was able to borrow in order to disguise himself.

"Sometimes I like a little privacy." Kakashi replied vaguely, when Naruto questioned him about his extensive quick change kit.

Naruto frowned, holding up a long purple stripe that was supposed to be worn over one's cheeks. He knew Kakashi was almost as perverted as Jiraiya, but what kind of kinky role playing was he into? And more importantly, did this mean that he had actually seen Kakashi's face without knowing it was him?

That day, Naruto made it across the village in a curly brown wig, a pair of thick brown spectacles, and the long white shirt and black trousers which he had begun to wear instead of his usual trademark sweat suit. The orange track suit, besides being ripped to shreds during the war, also made him a walking target for every fangirl within a mile's radius. But dressed up in Kakashi's disguises, Hinata was the only one who could spot Naruto instantly. He was even stopped and questioned at the gate to the Hyuga compound until he removed his wig.

Waking up and rolling over to face Naruto, Hinata rubbed the sleep from her white eyes and said, "I'm so sorry I fell asleep, Naruto. Wasn't your meeting today? Why didn't you wake me?"

Naruto pushed the hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it. I've only been home for a week. Kakashi, Iruka, and I have plenty of time for meetings, ya know. Besides you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you."

He would have sent a shadow clone if he had an extra costume. But after staying hidden for so long, the last time that he sent an undisguised clone across the village, the poor boy almost got torn to shreds by a mob of fangirls. Naruto did not have the heart to do that to another unsuspecting clone.

"I know, but it's so important to everyone in the village, your dream of becoming hokage. And I don't want to be the reason why you miss a meeting."

"You are just as important." Naruto replied, firmly. "And marrying you is just as much my dream now too."

He paused and looked at her seriously. "I want you to be by my side forever. Will you marry me, Hinata Hyuga?"

Hinata giggled. He asked her that same question every day. "Yes. I will marry you, Naruto Uzumaki."

Hinata smiled as he moved his kisses to her lips and then to her neck. He chose a spot where he had not already placed a hickey and went to work. Hinata squirmed and giggled as he moved his hands underneath her shirt and then traced his fingers down her spine. Once his wandering hands reached the top of her shorts and they both were breathing harder and more ragged between kisses, Naruto pulled back at bit.

"Maybe we should stop, don't you think?" He whispered huskily into her neck.

Softly, Hinata agreed, "Ummm… humm… yes", but she did nothing to resist him as Naruto forgot his original sentiment and deepened his kisses, popping the buttons on the front of her shirt. She opened her mouth accepting his tongue again as he moved his kisses back to her lips.

"Hinata! Naruto!"

Both lovers jumped at the sound of Hanabi's voice. Hinata sat up like a lightning rod, buttoning back up her shirt and straightening her hair quickly. While Naruto attempted to cross his arms over his chest awkwardly, giving the appearance of busily reading the book that they had long ago tossed to the side.

"I'm up here!" Hanabi called down happily from the tree branches above them. They looked up to find her smiling wickedly at them as she hung upside down from a branch with a popsicle in her hand.

Hiashi had gotten in the habit of sending Hanabi out into the gardens while Naruto was visiting, in order to make sure anything that was not supposed to be happening was quickly broken up.

Of course most of the time, the two teenage lovers got carried away and forgot themselves until Hinata's younger sister showed up… and she always showed up.

Hinata smiled at her sister and then looked embarrassed at Naruto, her cheeks turning bright red. "Do you think she saw us?"

"Oh I saw everything…" Hanabi answered cheerfully before Naruto could reply. She giggled and licked her popsicle gleefully.

Naruto stood up and jovially said, "But good ol' Hanabi won't say anything, will ya Hanabi?"

Hanabi shrugged and continued to laugh wickedly until Naruto slipped her a coin. She bit into the coin to make sure it was real and pocketed it, before dropping her smile and saying seriously. "I saw nothing actually."

Then she hopped down from the branches and hugged Naruto. "Brother Naruto, you are going to be my favorite brother in law."

"Thanks Hanabi." Naruto smiled as the girl skipped off with her popsicle and her new coin.

* * *

Sakura slid into the seat across from Hinata and Ino with a rosy hue to her cheeks. They were all seated on the outside patio of a local restaurant. The waitress came over and took Sakura's order quickly, before slyly questioning Hinata about Naruto's current whereabouts.

"Well isn't she cheeky." Ino narrowed her eyes at the waitress's back as she walked away. "Of all the nerve. Asking you all of those questions about your boyfriend. She won't be getting a tip from me!"

"It's ok." Hinata said softly, shrugging. She hated to admit that some of Naruto's more aggressive admirers were starting to bother her bit. Sometimes she subconsciously compared herself to all of the gifts and the attention that he received from other girls. Not that she was not very aware of how much Naruto loved her, but she wanted him to have the best. And the daily bombardment of women vying for his heart was beginning to slowly erode away at her confidence.

"You're a better woman than me, Hinata." Sakura patted Hinata's hand comfortingly, before grumbling. "I would have placed a paralysis genjutsu on her mouth."

Not able to help herself, Hinata giggled.

"And? What about you, Sakura? Where have you been?" Ino asked teasingly.

"Working." Sakura answered cryptically.

"So you weren't just with a certain dark haired shinobi then?" Ino pressed on.

Sakura rolled her eyes and then leaned forward stating in a low voice, "Actually, Sasuke plans to leave the village soon… and he has asked me to go with him."

Sakura's words did not exactly describe the awkward exchange that occurred between her and Sasuke the evening before, but it was close enough. Her face turned slightly red at the thought.

Since Sasuke's return to the village, Sakura had been leaving baskets of food on his doorstep every night. He could not cook well and he was too proud to venture into any of the many restaurants or markets where the villagers could openly express their disdain for his presence in the village. Though Sakura had been working hard to avoid him, that broken part of Sasuke still tugged at her heart strings and she could not help but worry about him. So she picked the time of day when he was usually gone and snuck food to his house.

Again that evening, she waited until about six o'clock when Sasuke usually went to the hokage monument to observe the sunset alone.

Because the Uchiha compound was so far on the outskirts of the village, it was mostly untouched by Pain's attack. But the structures had sat neglected for so long that many of them had collapsed anyway. Sakura had not been back to this area since Sasuke left the village years ago, but the place seemed to be overrun by cats. She had to start placing a cover over the basket in order to prevent the cats from stealing the food before Sasuke found it. It also appeared that for some strange reason, Sasuke had been feeding them. She found small bowls of kibble along her path to his house. As she shooed two cats away from his stoop and removed the empty basket before situating a new basket in its place, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

In surprise, she spun around to find Sasuke scowling down at her. "So you're the one who has been leaving this clutter on my door step every night."

Sasuke walked past her and scoffed. "I should of known it was you. Anyone else would know not to show up where they aren't invited."

"Well someone has to care about what happens to you! You would starve to death out here by yourself otherwise." Sakura replied defensively. "And would it hurt to just say thank you?"

She watched as Sasuke walked into the house, leaving the door open behind him. Reluctantly, she took the hint and followed him inside. The place was bare and very dark. There was no furniture in any of the front rooms. The kitchen did not even have appliances, just a sink and a small black oak table.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her before eyeing the full basket in her hands. After a second, he took it from her and mumbled, "Thank you..."

"Humm?" Sakura asked smugly, as though she did not hear him.

Sasuke ignored her and began to parcel out some of the food in the basket on two plates. He took the plates to the table and put one on each side, before commanding, "Sit."

"I brought the food for you..."

"If you insist on butting into my business and continuing to intrude on my private property, the least you can do is make yourself useful and keep me company over dinner." Sasuke sat in one of the chairs and then looked at her sternly, waiting for her to sit too.

"Fine." Sakura sat down opposite Sasuke and picked up her utensil to eat. After a minute of silence, Sakura began to speak. "So... how are you readjusting? To the village I mean? It's been a long time since..."

"Don't talk." Sasuke stated bluntly.

Sakura sighed and shoveled more food in her mouth. What was she supposed to do, if she could not talk? This was the most awkward dinner that she had ever been a part of in her life. "So what's with all of the cats?"

"What cats?" Sasuke was not going to give her an inch.

Her shoulders sagged at the thought that this was technically their first date. This type of disappointment was the exact reason why she had been avoiding him. She could not help but to speak her thoughts then. "I was hoping our first dinner date together would be a little bit more..."

"Who said this was a date?" Sasuke snapped, rolling his eyes incredulously.

After ten minutes of complete silence, Sasuke finished eating and picked up his plate and Sakura'a plate, though she was not finished eating yet. Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better of it. Sasuke took the dishes to the sink and turned on the water, before commenting, "Dinner is over. You can leave now."

Red faced and thoroughly embarrassed, Sakura stood up and gathered her basket. "You don't have to be such a rude bully, Sasuke Uchiha! If you didn't want me coming around here anymore, you could have just said so."

"Really? So if I told you to leave and never come back, you would listen and leave me alone? Just like that?" Sasuke asked, skeptically. "When has that ever happened in all of the years that we've known each other?"

"Well... Well..." Sakura stammered at him angrily. "It's happening to today! I'm leaving and I'm not coming back!"

She stomped off towards the door. "You don't have to tell me twice!"

"It's good to see that you've finally learned to take direction, Sakura. But it's so unlike you to give up this easily. Is this new you the reason why you have been avoiding me recently?" Sasuke inquired, unfazed. He did not look up from washing the dishes in the sink nor did he wait for her answer. "We'll just see how long your resolve lasts while we're out searching for Itachi."

"Wait what?" Sakura stopped midstep and spun around, letting go of the door knob. "What did you just say?"

"I said I'm leaving the village in a couple of days to search for Itachi and I'm taking you with me."

It was more of a brash command than an actual request, but Sakura had no response anyway. She stood staring at him with her mouth hanging open. Sasuke dropped the last dish in the dish rack and walked over to Sakura, placing his palm flat against the door behind her head and slamming it shut again. "So? Are you coming with me or what?"

"After you just treated me like... I'll never understand you Sasuke... Why would you even want me to come?" Sakura started to stammer again, but she could not finish because Sasuke had already leaned in and kissed her on the lips. He pressed her back against the door with his body as he deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue. All the while Sakura's mind was spinning, still trying to decide if she was dreaming or if this was actually real. He finally pulled back from the kiss and asked, "Does that answer your question?"

Sakura dropped the basket in her hand and quickly nodded. "Yes."

Presently at the restaurant...

Hinata frowned, almost spitting out the food in her mouth. "Really? Does Naruto know?"

"No." Sakura looked at Hinata hesitantly. "And Sasuke will be pissed that I'm telling you. He wanted to leave without any big fuss. And you know with Naruto… particularly these days, everything is a big fuss."

"But you want Naruto to know." Hinata surmised.

"Maybe if you tell him… but let him know it's supposed to be a secret." Sakura suggested. "He listens to you, Hinata."

"On most things." Hinata looked down at her hands. Naruto was not going to take Sasuke's departure well. He had been so happy ever since his best friend was back. Though Sasuke spent most of the last month and a half hiding within the old Uchiha compound, just knowing he was close by had calmed the undercurrent of restlessness that usually churned inside of Naruto. "Are you planning to go with him?"

"Yes." Sakura stated. "He came back for Naruto and for me. But now he wants to look for his brother. He believes as long as he carries the rinnegan and the last name Uchiha, he can't stay in the village long without putting Konoha in danger anyway."

Hinata perked up a bit. "Will he see Neji then?"

"Yes. Likely." Sakura replied. Then she narrowed her eyes. "But... I don't think he will want you and Naruto to come with us if that's what you're thinking Hinata."

Hinata's cheeks burned red, but she only smiled at Sakura and did not respond. There was no way she was going to be able to stop Naruto from trying to follow Sasuke and Sakura, and now that she knew that they were looking for Itachi, which meant they were also looking for Neji, she could not say she wanted to stop him.

"Besides, he needs to stay and complete his training so he can become hokage." Sakura continued her argument. Hinata raised an eyebrow still not replying. That was what sealed clones were for, after all.

* * *

"What do you mean they're leaving?!" Naruto demanded as he paced back and forth in front of Hinata and Kurama deep within in his mindspace later that afternoon.

'I hate to admit it, but I think Sasuke is right to leave the village, Kid. Very few are happy to see him back here.' Kurama yawned and stretched waking up from a two week nap. The war had tuckered him out almost to a state of hibernation.

"Sasuke is not right! And who is not happy to see him back?! I dare anyone to say they're not happy to see Sasuke back home, in front of me!" Naruto raged. "I mean granted after what Madara did to him, Itachi is still wanted in most of the world and Sasuke is his brother. But Sasuke has been cleared by Kakashi... I mean Lord Sixth, and he is just as much a hero of this war as I am! Who says he's not?"

"Naruto." Hinata said his name, soothingly.

"Umm..." He stopped pacing and looked at her.

"I think Sasuke might feel guilty because he was cleared, but Itachi, Neji, and Masuku were not. They were just as much victims of Madara and Orochimaru as Sasuke."

"Kakashi cleared Sasuke. Itachi would have been cleared if he turned himself in and came back." Naruto stated. "Likely Neji would have been too."

'I think that's called magical thinking.' Kurama replied sarcastically. 'No way any of them would be pardoned. Kakashi was taking a huge risk just pardoning Sasuke. And most of the world still doesn't believe the truth about Itachi.'

"Besides, Itachi would never leave Masuku nor Neji to fend for themselves." Hinata added.

Naruto growled, frustrated. Then he had a brilliant thought, "Well Sasuke and Sakura will need our help to find them. I mean you and I are some of the best sensory ninja around, right?"

'He doesn't want your help.' Kurama pointed out.

"When has that ever stopped me before?" Naruto asked Kurama incredulously. Kurama flipped onto his back and placed his arms underneath his head. 'Don't say I didn't warn you, kid.'

"Maybe Kurama is right Naruto." Hinata stated. "I want to see Neji just as much as you want to help Sasuke, but... maybe they want to be alone. I think Sasuke really does have feelings for Sakura. And Sakura has always loved him."

Naruto looked at Hinata and then he started to laugh. He laughed so hard his stomach started to hurt. "So... you think Sasuke has a thing for Sakura? Ha! Ha! No way! I've been around those two for years and he has never shown any interest in her. Good ol' Hinata. You always see the best in everyone..."

"Don't worry, you guys. I have a plan. I've learned quite a few things sneaking around this village for the last couple of months." Naruto pulled himelf out of the mindspace and shoved his wig down over his blond hair, placing on his brown spectacles. He grabbed Hinata's hand, "Come on! We're going to see Kakashi!"

* * *

With Konoha Ninja Network Television (KNNT) starting development in a few months, Kakashi had been drowning in a massive amount of work and a bombardment of requests.

Everyone wanted a television show on the new network, from the elderly lady who lived right underneath his flat and who quite spryly managed to corner him every morning even though she had to be pushing ninety... to Teuchi the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, who presented an entire storyboard for his cooking show idea during dinner with Iruka the other night.

The most requests had come from network producers and some very aggressive fangirls about a reality television show following Naruto Uzumaki's daily life. Kakashi had a nice chuckle over that one, as watching endless hours of a boy eating ramen and making out with his girlfriend did not exactly make for good television. What happened to just reading a good novel anyway?

Kakashi leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. It had been five minutes since Shikamaru entered the office with more paperwork and meetings to add to his plate. He never thought he would value five minutes of peace as much as he did right now. How he missed the days when he could just sit in a tree and read... alone.

He heard Naruto coming down the hall before the door even opened. Kakashi sighed. His five minutes were up.

"Kakashi Sensei!" The door flew open, banging against the wall and causing the papers, that Shikamaru had spent so much time organizing on the desk, to fly up into a white cloud of chaos.

"You can't disturb him." Shikamaru attempted to shift his body in front of Naruto, who still had on the huge brown spectacles but was whacking Shikamaru with the brown wig to get him to move out of the way. "Appointment! You need an appointment!"

"This is important!" Naruto and Shikamaru struggled for a moment in the doorway.

"Just let him in." Kakashi relented.

Shikamaru sighed and reluctantly moved out of Naruto's path. He spotted the papers on the floor and slapped his forehead. This was exactly why he use to avoid doing work. All of that organizing for nothing. "What a drag..."

"I'll clean it up." Kakashi told Shikamaru, as he stood up and moved around the desk to greet his guests. "Hello Hinata. What do you want Naruto?"

Naruto pulled Hinata into the room, placing his arm around her shoulders as they stood in front of the hokage. "I want to take Hinata on a short... vacation before I really get into my studies."

"That was what was so important?" Shikamaru demanded.

Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest. "Really? What brought this on?"

"Well... You know it's been terribly hard for us to spend any real time together lately." Naruto sighed. "Every time we go out in the village, I get mobbed. It took us thirty minutes just to get here, and that was with the wig and the glasses on."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "That's true. Though I'm not sure how happy Hiashi will be about you and Hinata going on a trip alone. You still have an entire year before you can get married."

"What if we take someone with us, Lord Sixth?" Hinata interjected, attempting to back Naruto up. "My father would have to agree if we were not alone and on an actual mission."

Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi stated, "This doesn't have anything to do with Sasuke's decision to leave the village to find Itachi, does it?"

He looked at Hinata, knowing she would break first.

"Well..." Hinata started, her cheeks turning red.

"How'd you know about that?" Naruto demanded.

Kakashi shrugged and walked around his desk again. Sliding into his chair, he sarcastically replied. "I'm the hokage. I know and see everything."

Shikamaru looked up from the notepad he was scribbling on and rolled his eyes.

"Well why aren't you doing something about it then?" Naruto slammed his hands on the desk. "You're just going to let him leave and take Sakura too?"

"Nope." Kakashi replied matter factly. "I'm sending in a special team to assist them and to make sure they return safely. Under the circumstances, Sasuke can leave, but Sakura is needed here in the village."

"Well, I want to be part of this team. Who's on it, by the way?"

"You and Hinata." Kakashi stated abruptly.

"I don't care what you say! I'm going to be on that team... wait what?" Naruto paused, unsure he heard what he just heard.

Hinata tugged at Naruto's sleeve, whispering. "I think he just agreed."

* * *

"You both need new sexy bathing suits if you're going on a pseudo vacation with your boyfriends!" Ino ferociously dragged both Hinata and Sakura into the next shop.

Hinata looked a bit frightened, but Sakura appeared annoyed. She still could not figure out how Naruto managed to horn in on her mission with Sasuke. She finally had him all to herself, and now suddenly, it was a group situation again.

Surprisingly Sasuke did not refuse Naruto's and Hinata's company, and he actually seemed to not care at all that their traveling group had grown from two to four. So Sakura went along with it, afraid he might change his mind, back out altogether, and leave Konoha without her if she put up a fight.

Ino appeared from behind some racks of clothes with two sets of bikinis. With a look of disgust, she snatched a plain one piece suit out of Hinata's hands and shoved the yellow suit at her. She shoved the other bikini at Sakura. "These will be perfect."

"I think this might be too small..." Hinata started, but Ino ignored her.

"You can't complain until you try it on." Ino herded both of them into the changing rooms and then stood outside like a sentinel, tapping her foot.

Sakura emerged first in the red bikini. She tugged at it. "It's kind of loose at the top. I wish I had something more to fill it out."

"Oh Forehead. You look great!" Ino admired her choice.

"You really think so?" Sakura looked down at herself, feeling more and more insecure by the second.

"She's right. You look... decent." A deep voice came from behind them. Both girls turned to find Sasuke standing among the clothing racks next to some strange kid with long wavy black hair. As his eyes intensely inspected every inch of her body, Sakura could feel her cheeks burning red in response.

"Th- thanks." Sakura stammered. That had to be the nicest thing Sasuke had ever said to her.

Then Hinata appeared out of the dressing rooms next. "Ino, I really do think this is too small."

Stopping mid step as she realized they were no longer alone, Hinata squeaked, "Naruto!"

Both Ino and Sakura turned as they realized the strange kid with Sasuke was Naruto in a disguise. But he was staring past both of them with his mouth hanging open. "Hinata... well I... I mean you..."

"She looks nice! Right Naruto?" Ino prompted.

"You sure do Hinata. You look great!" Naruto smiled brightly. He absentmindedly meandered closer to his girlfriend, as Hinata was attempting to better cover herself. She could feel Naruto's suddenly very intense intentions towards her through the binding seal. She had felt this before, but not in front of everyone. Her bright red cheeks matched Sakura's now.

Ino stepped into Naruto's path and waved her finger in his face. "Uhh uhh uhh! This is for the trip."

Sighing, Sakura felt completely inadequate after watching the way Hinata filled out her suit and the way Naruto was attempting to clamber past Ino to get at her. Dejected, she turned away only to look back up into Sasuke's black eyes. He was still staring at her, not yet noticing that there was anyone else in the room. She smiled at him. He did not smile back but raised an eyebrow before turning to walk out of the store. He called over his shoulder, "Let's go Naruto."

Naruto was still being held back by Ino. He stopped and looked over his own shoulder at Sasuke. "Huh? But we didn't get any swim trunks?"

Sasuke grumbled. "I already told you once. I won't be going swimming. This is a mission to find Itachi. Not a vacation."

* * *

The next day, Hiashi called Naruto into his office.

"Lord Hiashi requests that Mister Naruto comes alone." Ko reported to the young couple after he found them together in the garden.

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other apprehensively. "Do you know what this is about?"

Shaking her head, Hinata bit her lip, looking worried. "My father has been pretty distant since we've returned to the village -even for him."

"I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe it has to do with the mission and Neji?" Naruto leaned forward and kissed Hinata on the forehead. "Don't worry about it."

Naruto said this to Hinata, but he worried about what Hiashi had to say all the way to the back of the main house where Hiashi's office sat.

"Come in and close the door. I have a few items I want to discuss with you." Hiashi had on his "Master Fuddy-Duddy" face and Naruto already knew he was either in trouble or in for a long lecture with an even longer list of to-dos following.

The Hyuga clan leader waved Naruto forward and towards the chair on the other side of his desk. When Naruto was settled in and looking thoroughly petrified, Hiashi allowed a small smile to cross his stern face and said, "So... you and Hinata have been close for several years now. And you are officially sealed and promised to be married in a year. Which brings me to why I called you here today. I know you love each other ...flaws and all, and that is all well and good, but the fact of the matter is that you both come from two totally different worlds. And though you have enjoyed visiting each other in said worlds, I have yet to see how you plan to merge the two by the coming year."

"Well, I..." Naruto started.

Hiashi interrupted, "I'm not finished."

"Hinata has been sheltered her entire life, pampered, and well cared for. Granted, she is a well meaning girl with many useful skills, but I'm not sure how well she will do in that cramped one bedroom apartment of yours... living off of Ramen noodles. Hinata would endure it... for your sake, but it's not exactly befitting a daughter of the Hyuga main family. On the other hand, you have enjoyed excessive freedom and very little structure for most of your life, so living here in the Hyuga compound where your every move is monitored, would likely be very stressful for you."

Hiashi sat back in his chair and drummed his fingers on his desk. "So? Now that you are about to take wife... what is your plan?"

"Well... we'll just move into a house..." Naruto frowned. The truth was he had no plan. Other than on the battlefield, he never had a plan. He just kind of went with whatever life handed him at the time.

"What house?" Hiashi asked. "Neither the Uzumaki Clan nor your father has left you any land here in the village. You would have to petition the hokage for property and once land is approved, you'd have to build a house. And to build a house big enough for say... any future children, would take more than a year."

Hiashi sat up straighter. "Now I am absolutely certain after what you did during the fourth war and Pain's attack that Lord Sixth would gladly revisit any of the older maps which included land set aside for the Uzumaki clan. Not to mention foot the bill for any sized house you wanted build. But... you'd have to make a request and get the request in before the village rebuilding is complete.

Yet I hear you and my daughter are planning to leave the village again on an extended mission in a few days. And what about the wedding? The type of wedding that Hinata wants takes months maybe even a year to plan. And what happened to studying for your ninja level exams? The village is counting on you to become the seventh hokage..."

Naruto's head was starting to hurt and he was beginning to sweat. With all of these responsibilities starting to pile up on his lap, he was beginning to understand why Kakashi and Master Jiraiya never got married. And did Hiashi just mention future children? Naruto winced. "I'll leave a sealed clone behind, he can handle things while I'm away, ya know."

Hiashi sighed. "It's admirable that you requested to go on this mission with Sasuke in order to help your friend, and sealed clones have their purposes. But they are also unpredictable. You can't just leave all the responsibility to them while you go off doing whatever you please. Is that how you plan to handle your marriage? Leave a clone as Hinata's husband so you can go on adventures with your friends?"

Naruto frowned. "I can't back out of the mission now..."

"And I'm not asking you to... you just need to think long and hard during this time away if you are ready to be married. You are both very young. You can wait several more years and then you can go on as many missions as you please whenever you want."

"That's not necessary. Hinata and I are ready for this. You will see." Naruto answered confidently. But now he felt guilty because he was not as confident as he tried to appear to Hiashi. And he was starting to think that maybe Hiashi had a point.


	32. Once Upon a Time In Uzushiogakure

Once Upon a Time In Uzushiogakure

A few days later, their traveling group of four headed east to the border of the Land of Fire, where they crossed the small channel to the island of the Land of Eddies.

Earlier in the trip, Naruto had insisted on using sage mode to sense Itachi and his two companion's approximate location. He vaguely felt them to the far east, further than the sea. But they were too far away to pinpoint an exact location. Besides the fact that he was also distracted by something else which was far more disturbing nearby.

As they traveled for the next day, Hinata could feel that something was bothering Naruto, and had been bothering him ever since he used sage mode to find Itachi. But when she asked him about it, he just gave her a vague answer.

There was not much time for small talk since Sasuke kept their pace moving quickly. Stopping in each town to ask about any sightings of Itachi's group. By the third evening, they found themselves in a small town just outside of the old ruins of Uzushiogakure.

"We'll spend the night at the inn. We can use the night to question the towns people in the local tavern and then we'll be gone early in the morning." Sasuke laid out the intended plan as they entered the borders of the town.

"What about exploring a little before it gets too late?" Hinata asked, timidly. She could feel Naruto becoming even more distracted the closer they came to this place and now he was completely consumed by whatever was pulling him towards the abandoned village.

"It's been two days Sasuke." Sakura was also concerned about Naruto's unusual silence. "Hinata is right. Maybe we should take a little break tonight."

"You three can take a break." Sasuke stated, continuing to stalk towards the inn and ignoring Naruto's strange behavior. "I will do the questioning on my own."

"We should stick together." Sakura retorted. Sasuke invited her on this mission but had so far acted as though she was an unwanted annoyance. She was more confused than ever. Ever since they kissed, it seemed like he had reverted right back to distant enigmatic Sasuke.

"I can take care of myself." Sasuke entered the inn without another word.

"Sasuke..." Her face turning red with frustration, Sakura stomped her foot and growled after him as he disappeared inside the building. She turned back to Hinata, who was watching Naruto as he stood staring westward in the direction of the old village. Sighing, she placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Naruto? Are you ok? We can all tell that something is off."

Hinata walked up next to Naruto and grabbed his hand in her smaller hand. "Naruto?"

"I sense something very sad and very angry coming from that place. But I also recognize it... It seems familiar."

Closing her eyes, Hinata felt what Naruto was feeling through the binding seal. It was like a heavy load had just dropped onto her shoulders and she struggled not to collapse underneath it. Naruto turned and grabbed her, preventing her from crumpling to the ground. "You feel it too?"

"What is that?" Hinata looked up into Naruto's blue eyes with concern. She had not seen sadness there in a long time. He replied. "I don't know. But I need to find out."

Naruto moved off in the direction of the ruined village. Hinata followed him with Sakura close behind, though she was still very confused. "What is going on you guys?"

"There is something or someone in the old ruined village." Hinata explained.

"You mean the old ruin village of Naruto's clan?" Sakura could not help but see the irony in that. She also was not certain how great an idea it was to run off towards an old ghost town where Naruto sensed negative feelings. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea you guys..."

Naruto was not listening however and he ran towards the village without another word.

"Really?" Sakura complained. "Is anyone going to listen to me today?"

Hinata and Sakura followed Naruto deeper into the tangled woods that bordered the town. Eventually the forest ended and they came upon the border of the ruined hidden village.

There was an enormous hole torn into the front gate of the village. From there the wall crumbled for miles. And within the first several kilometers of the village there was nothing but rubble. The back of the village had more intact structures. Some with the Uzumaki symbol still etched across the front.

Hinata followed Naruto in through the front of the wall. She could feel him searching for something, but he was becoming increasingly frustrated as the something was becoming more and more elusive. She gave up trying to stay next him and began to look around the village herself.

Her grandfather had told her many stories about the old Uzumaki clan. Most of their techniques were now forbidden or lost, and every sealing technique could trace its history back to this clan, including the Hyuga's caged bird seal and the binding seal.

Hinata bent down noting something in a pile of rubble. It was shiny, reflecting the last of the sunlight as it set to the west, welcoming twilight and the soft moonlight. Finally, dislodging the item from within the crumbled rocks, she held an old metal plate of a forehead protecter in her hands. It was rusted and disfigured, but the old worn symbol of the continuous spiral was still visible. Hinata felt a shiver descend down her spine as she realized how much blood must have been spilled on this land. And then the shiver became like fingers on the back of her neck as she felt someone watching her. Looking up abruptly, she caught sight of something staring at her from behind a grouping of decayed buildings. It was dark, almost like a shadow, but she could feel its piercing eyes. She called out, "Hello?!"

She stood up and moved towards figure, but just that quickly, it slipped away, disappearing into the shadows. Hinata looked around for Naruto and Sakura but they were no where nearby. She quickly moved after the figure, rounding the corner to see where it went. She spotted it again rounding another corner further away. It appeared to be a young boy but not quite, still appearing more shadow than solid form. The figure disappeared again. This time she activated her byakugan. But when she scanned the area where he just disappeared, she did not pick up a chakra signature. "That's strange."

Continuing around the next corner, she came upon the ruins of a large public courtyard. "Hello?"

Her voice echoed in the empty space. Now she found, a tall lean boy leaning against the building on the opposite side of the courtyard. This boy was larger and definitely not made of shadows. He stood next to the small shadowed figure and underneath a large fallen sign with the Uzumaki crest. Hinata made her way across the courtyard to get a closer look at the boy.

She stopped abruptly when she got just feet from him. As the shadowed figured melt into the ground and disapperaed, the other boy looked over at her with large bright blue eyes. Shocked, she took a step back. What had she just come across? Was she hallucinating? Had she knocked herself unconscious and was now dreaming?

This boy looked just like Naruto. Only his wild spiky hair was black and his side burns were long like Minato's and braided with leather cord. Whisker marks covered his cheeks like Naruto's cheeks, but he also had a symbolic tattoo underneath his left eye which Hinata could not quite place though she felt she had seen it before. The tattoo gave her a deep feeling of dread, which caused her to take another step back. But she could not turn away because the teenage boy was the same age, the same build, and had the exact same face as Naruto. This held her frozen in place as if the boy were actually physically restraining her.

The strange boy wore a tattered white tunic which showed off the lean muscular physique of his arms, but was made in an old fashion style from over a century ago. His pants were also simple and old fashion. Over the tunic he wore leather armor with the Uzumaki crest etched on the chest and long leather cuffs over his wrists. A large battle axe was slung across his back.

Curiously, he narrowed his eyes at Hinata. "You're a Hyuga."

Hinata stared back in disbelief as the name slipped from her lips. "Naruto?"

The boy moved so quickly, she was not sure what happened until after it happened. He had her around the waist, supporting her before her legs could collapse underneath her. She whispered up at him again, reaching to touch the symbol on the boy's cheek. It burned like freezing ice underneath her finger tips. The name slipped from her lips again. "Naruto?"

"My name is not Naruto." The boy replied firmly. He pulled her back up to her feet, so she was pressed against him as he held onto her by the waist. "It's Menma. Menma Uzumaki."

Menma looked down at her, still examining her closely. Then he moved his face closer so his lips brushed her forehead along with his ice cold breath. She could feel him smelling her hair. He twisted his fingers through the long black strands just like Naruto always did, before whispering, "You smell just like her."

Abruptly Menma moved back slightly so he could look into Hinata's eyes again. Then he began to suspiciously ask her a string of questions. "Is this a demon's trick? You look just like her too. Who are you people? Where have you come from? You're clothes are strange."

"Oh... I'm Hinata." Hinata answered, flustered. It was as if everything shifted when the boy caught her. The courtyard was no longer in ruins. It was completely intact and lay as though it was just recently built. "Hinata Hyuga."

"You are a very beautiful girl." Menma commented still staring at her and still not letting her move away. "Just exactly my taste."

"I came here with my friend, Sakura, and my boyfriend, Naruto. I need to find them." Feeling very uncomfortable now, Hinata tried to politely slip out of his embrace again, but Menma only held on tighter.

The boy frowned at her, his blue eyes growing hostile. He demanded, "So you have an intended?"

"He must be the other one that I felt nearby." He said this to himself but just as angrily. His eyes landed on Naruto's locket and ring as it lay on her chest. Brashly, he picked it up and inspected it. "This Naruto. Is he a formidable shinobi then?"

Hinata nodded, adamantly. "Yes. Naruto is the strongest shinobi I know."

Menma scoffed, finally letting her go. "Well now you know me."

Menma seemed to be getting angrier and angrier by the second. Hinata had figured out by then that he was the presence that Naruto sensed in the village. But who and what was he? And how did he get there?

She looked around them. The area that surrounded them seemed to be in a completely different time then the area that sat just beyond the courtyard, which still lay in ruins. As the sunlight completely disappeared beyond the horizon, the differences between the two planes became more and more distinct. She turned back to the dark haired boy. He was scowling at her intently as though waiting for her to say something. Hesitantly she asked, "Why did you draw us here?"

Menma narrowed his blue eyes at her. "Because you are going to be mine."

* * *

Naruto moved through the rubble of the old ruined village after the presence. Every time he felt he was close to it, the presence moved further away. But it still pulled at him urgently, so he could not stop himself from searching the village.

'Kid. Be careful.' Kurama warned. 'The fact that you are sensing this being without using either your sage modes or my chakra would suggest that this presence is something supernatural and connected directly to you in some form or fashion.'

Frowning, Naruto stopped. There had been reports of strange sightings all over the world ever since Kaguya's return to earth. Could this be another one of those phenomenon connected to her temporary revival? He hated to think what or who it was. It felt very powerful and very evil all at the same time.

Then he had another disturbing thought. Where was Hinata?

She suddenly felt vague and far away just like the presence. Now he was really starting to get concerned. He moved in the direction that he thought he felt her but she moved away just like the strange presence.

He ran from one side of the village to other side, hitting the wall both times without finding her. Returning to the center of the village he ran into Sakura.

"Have you seen Hinata?" Naruto asked her.

"Not since we first got here." Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Why are you asking me? You should be the first one to find her."

* * *

After Menma asked her a series of questions, he appeared to back off slightly as though he planned to let her go free. But when Hinata tried to walk out of the courtyard, she felt herself come upon an invisible barrier. She pressed on it and banged on it. She even used an air palm strike, but the barrier only wavered slightly.

She could see Naruto as he passed by, but apparently he could not see them. She yelled through the barrier to him. "Naruto! I'm right here!"

"That won't work." Menma stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "We are sealed in here together."

"What? Why?" Hinata asked, panicking a bit. "Who did this?"

Menma chuckled, sitting down and picking up a piece of straw to chew on. "Apparently, I'm still inside my dead body, but the seal has weakened enough to allow me to connect to the outside world again after all these decades. When the sun goes down, it's like I'm almost human again."

"I think we should make the most of this while we have time. Don't you think?" Menma stood up and moved close to Hinata again, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him. She squirmed away again, running to the other side of the courtyard and placing her hands up in a defensive position. "What are you?"

"Well now that I am a bit more oriented to where I am. I'd say that I lived my life over a century before your time. Probably in a parallel dimension. The veil appears to be weaker here in this version of my village." Menma smirked and plopped back down on the courtyard steps. "I was a demon hunter in my time. A very good one if I do say so myself. I've sealed many a demon, creature, and other powerful jutsu... enough to make me an elite warrior even before I became a toad sage. Of course it was forbidden for an Uzumaki to become a sage. Our clan was already feared enough. After I returned from Mount Myoboku, my father, who was leader at the time, used me as an example and banished me from the village to prevent the kage and the other clans from becoming suspicious that we were growing too powerful.

After a string of unspeakable events, I returned to my village a couple of years later. My father and his warriors were forced to kill me. Well... actually, as naive as I was back then, I surrendered. But my father had no mercy. Not only was I killed, but since I was bound to the earth, I had to be sealed away. My father wouldn't allow me to be sealed inside a reaper. I was too powerful. Instead they sealed my body in a crypt beneath this courtyard."

Menma's smile had an edge of madness to it. He patted the ground next to him. "The seal should have been permanent, preventing me from contacting any potential living hosts. But it seems my luck has changed. Something has weakened the seal enough to allow me to contact your boyfriend and draw you here."

"What do you want with me?" Hinata asked.

"I've been here alone for over a century." Menma growled, squeezing his fists. "I was only seventeen when I died. I was never able to take a wife nor have a family. Besides you remind me of someone I use to know."

He looked at Hinata hungrily. "So I plan to have you."

* * *

'You're going to have to use a jutsu that can find anything.' Kurama stated.

Naruto sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. Something that can find anything. Well that was easy. He activated sixth paths mode, surrounding himself with his truth seeking balls. He felt the presence again to his right. The balls took the shape of a half sphere and half a sharp cone. The balls moved like bullets to the target, moving faster than the presence could shift. SLICE! SLICE!

The truth seeking balls punctured their way through the seals barrier. A small opening formed within the invisible boundary. Naruto moved almost as fast as the truth seeking balls as he sped from his spot on the ground through the barrier before it close again behind him.

* * *

Menma felt the ripple in the barrier before Naruto's truth seeking balls ripped it open. He slid across the courtyard grasping hold of Hinata and slapping his palm against the side of her neck.

As soon as Naruto appeared through the barrier, he pushed some of the tailed beasts chakra through the binding seal, blasting Menma from Hinata and into a nearby wall. Two large chakra arms extended from Naruto scooping up Hinata and bringing her towards him. She fell into his arms. "Are you ok?"

Relieved Hinata nodded up at him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Yes. You always find me, no matter what."

Menma stood up and brushed off his pants before pulling his battle axe from his back. He sneered at Naruto, who looked back at him in shock. "Hey! Why do you have my face?"

"My name is Menma Uzumaki." The boy replied. "And that girl standing next to you is mine."

Naruto looked down at Hinata who wrapped her arms around his neck tighter in response. "Hinata is not yours! She's a person not a thing! And who the hell do you think you are anyway?"

Menma scoffed. "I'm the shinobi who plans to take your face and that girl. Even if you try to take Hinata from this barrier, she will only return to me sooner or later."

Naruto placed Hinata on her feet and moved in front of her. He shoved his finger in Menma's direction. "You may be my face twin, but if you threaten Hinata, you deal with me!"

Naruto met Menma's axe with a combination of his tailed beast chakra and a kunai. They danced around each other exchanging blows. Another Menma appeared above them, swinging his battle axe down as Kurama's head snapped shut over Naruto, meeting the blow with a roar. Two more Naruto's appeared slamming rasengan into Menma from each side. He contorted his body to dodge the blows as nine more of him appeared in a line. The nine Menma encircled the two shinobi making hand seals and slamming their palms onto their chests. The seals placed on the clones began to seep a wispy essence which wound around their bodies taking on the shapes of Menma's nine sealed demons.

Naruto and Kurama roared again in response. Kurama's chakra unfolded itself as if climbing up out of the ground to meet the nine demons.

"Perfect." Menma growled. "Not only will I have a bride by the end of tonight. I'll have another demon to add to my collection."

Naruto and Menma fought through the night as Kurama put down each demon, one by one. But as the last demon was standing, Menma stood up from the spot where he patiently watched the fight. He growled. "I guess I'li just have to do this myself if I want that prize inside of you."

He slammed his palm into his chest. The tattoo under his left eye began to glow, seeping black chakra. The chakra contorted his features making him look more fox like. Black fur grew from his enormous grotesque body. His blue eyes turned a fiery red color.

At the same time, the sun appeared on the horizon, and Hinata noted that the world inside of the barrier appeared to be fading. "Naruto! I think we have to get out of here!" She yelled insistently.

'She's right. I think that kid has been stalling the entire time, to get us to stay in here.' Kurama confirmed. 'I sense something very familiar inside of him now. With the amount of hatred that is fueling the nine tailed fox that he is channeling, he will not be easy to defeat. But if we stay any longer, we might be sealed here with him permanently.'

Sending his truth seeking balls at the barrier again, Naruto pounded the remaining demon into the stone structure that surrounded the courtyard. He grabbed Hinata's hand and leapt through the hole that was ripped in the barrier. Menma yelled after Naruto and Hinata. "I told you! It's useless to take her from this barrier!"

But as the sun rose further into the sky, Menma and the barrier faded further until they were gone completely.

Sakura met them as they came out of the seal. "Thank god! You guys were gone forever!"

Naruto looked concerned at Hinata. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." Hinata said, softly. Though she did not feel fine. Her neck started to burn as soon as she and Naruto crossed back over into their world. "I just need to sit down for a second."

Hinata did not make it to the steps however, her legs collapsed out from underneath her and she tumbled into Naruto's arms. "Hinata?"

"Don't worry about me." Hinata smiled at him reassuringly. "It's been a long night, I just need to lie down for awhile."

* * *

By the time Naruto and Sakura made it back to the inn with Hinata, she had passed out completely.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, frowning down at Hinata, who lay unconscious in Naurto's arms.

"Something that calls itself Menma did something to Hinata." Naruto replied frantically as he lay Hinata on the bed in one of the rooms. "Sakura what is wrong with her?"

Sakura scanned Hinata, but could find nothing wrong. Then she came across the mark on her neck. "What is this? It looks like some sort of seal but I've never seen it before."

Sasuke examined the mark. "I don't know, either. But maybe someone from around here might know."

They got the inn keeper and brought him to Hinata's bedside to look at the mark. His eyes opened wide with fear. "You people should leave now."

"What!?" Ferociously, Naruto frowned at the man. "Don't you see she is sick? What do you mean leave?"

Sasuke moved in front of Naruto and drew his sword, placing it smoothly at the innkeeper's throat. "So. We won't be leaving until you tell us what is wrong with her and how to get her better."

The man shook his head backing up and holding up his hands. "I don't want any problems. It looks like a demon seal. The only one that can help her now is the witch. So you should take her there."

"Where is this witch?" Naruto demanded.

Sasuke resheathed his sword, letting the inn keeper run from the room. "She lives out in the swamp at the edge of town. The people around here call her 'the witch', but she doesn't have any magical powers. She just old... and she knows a lot of things. Particularly about those ruins, you idiots walked into."

"Sasuke." Sakura glared at him. He raised an eyebrow back at her. "We need to move Hinata there as quickly as possible."

* * *

Gemsa Ushuro was the elderly woman, whom the towns people called, the witch. She had lived almost one hundred years and was the only surviving descendant of the Uzumaki clan who still resided on the island.

She was feared by the towns people, though she changed her last name long ago to ward off local superstitions. But the residents still came to her small hovel on the outskirts of the town for fortune telling, readings, and healing potions anyway. That was how she made her living and what kept her from leaving the area altogether.

The people called her a witch because her predictions always came true. She was the only one in town who dared to enter the ruined village. She claimed to see and communicate with the spirits who haunted the ruins. That was how she knew about certain future events and personal occurrences that people thought were otherwise private.

"This world is layered with multiple variations of itself. The barrier between the worlds is significant enough that the parallel dimensions are kept apart mostly and only communicate after death. Of course there are areas where the veil is weakened. Usually by some unspeakably tragic event like the massacre and destruction of Uzushiogakure. For those of us who are more sensitive to the events in other dimensions, we can see and feel the strange presences that roam those ruins. A lot of people think they are ghosts but actually they are just reflections from other versions of this world. I call them spirits."

"Is that what this Menma is?" Naruto demanded.

"Menma." Gemsa said that name with reluctance. "He is one of the more powerful and dangerous spirits that I've come across within Uzushiogakure's borders."

She gave Naruto another odd look. "Some how I'm not surprised he is your doppleganger boy. Not with a reputation like yours."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demanded, not liking the comparison. "I'm nothing like him."

"No. I think you are very much like him. Driven, powerful, and unswayable." Gensami raised an eyebrow. "Those characteristics make for a great hero but also for a vicious antihero."

"What I know about Menma is that he was a sage. So like you he is much more aware of the weakness in the veil and what lies beyond it. Not only was he a sage, but he is a dead sage who was sealed beneath his version of Uzushiogakure for over a century. I've only felt him within the tunnels underneath the village before. I rarely go down there because that is where all the troublesome spirits usually stay."

A surge from Kaguya's revival must have past through the veil and weakened the barrier seal that contained him underground, so now his consciousness is able to reach above ground." Gemsa rubbed her hand over the symbol on Hinata's neck. "Because he is a version of you in his dimension, even within the barrier he is able to appear to you and through your binding seal also to Hinata, as a full bodied being. The true Menma is still buried underground. But that form only lasts under the power of the moon. He was attempting to hold Hinata there long enough to trap her consciousness with him once the sun rose again. If she is trapped, it will be permanent."

"Menma is driven by his loneliness. And lonely spirits are the most dangerous. Particularly when they have powers like his."

"From I've learned from other spirits who in that same world, Menma's world is over run with demons and other supernatural creatures. His clan hunts and seals these creatures in order to call upon their powers through fuinjutsu. Menma has placed a seal on Hinata which will allow one of his sealed demons to slowly possess her in this world. Once she is fully possessed, she will attempt to return to Menma's barrier seal."

Naruto growled. He demanded. "Well how do we unpossess her then?"

"She's fortunate to have a sealing partner. And that her sealing partner is an equally powerful Uzumaki." Gemsa replied. "You are going to have to do for her what she has done for you and your tailed beast in past."

"That will delay the demon from taking full control. But the only way to rid her of the demon completely is to trick the demon into releasing her." Gemsa stated. "The demon will try to hide its true form until its too late, but you have to convince it to tell you its name. Once we know its name we can recover the mask that mimics it."

* * *

Naruto sat by Hinata's bed and watched her sleep. He traced his fingers across her forehead, feeling her smooth soft skin against his callused palms. Gently, he moved the long black strands out of her face. "I'm going to make all of this right. Menma won't take you again." He promised her.

He reached down and took her hand, intwining their fingers together, before he closed his eyes and reached inside her mindscape through the binding seal. He could feel Kurama moving with him, watching his back protectively as he searched for Menma's seal.

The chamber was warm, almost hot as though a large furnace pumped in heat from behind the red leather walls. The floor was covered with red and black carpet and it led to the bars of the large cage which sat in the middle of the chamber.

A young woman with long black hair and pale white skin lay within the cage, only partially dressed. Naruto noted that the demon had copied the yellow bikini from Hinata's recent memories as he moved closer attempting to see its face. But she kept enough hair in her face to prevent a clear view. He made it all the way up to the bars of the cage before the demon reached out and grabbed hold of his shirt, moving her head so her face and her lips pressed against the bars of the seal.

Her long claws dug into the material of his cotton black jacket. Her face looked almost identical to Hinata's face with the exception of the brilliant red eyes and blood red lips. With supernatural strength, she pulled Naruto closer to the bars of the cage. "Awww... I've been sent a gift. And what a pretty little gift you are. You are almost as handsome as my master."

She attempted to reach her other hand out of the cage to touch Naruto's face but a metal cuff appeared on her wrist restraining her arm back down inside of the cage. "Awww... you're no fun, Naruto. Let me out. I'm sure your girlfriend knows how to share."

Another cuff appeared restraining the other arm and yanking the demon down on its butt. She complained, "You're not very nice are you?"

Naruto snarled, angrily. "Take off Hinata's face."

The demon rolled its eyes and then shook its head. The face matured a bit and became rounder. Its black hair shortened itself into an old fashioned up do with several buns and loops of hair. Her eyes became black and the bikini became a long kimono. She smiled wickedly up at Naruto through the bars. "How about my old face then? Does this make you feel more comfortable? Does it stop you from thinking all those devilish thoughts rolling around in your mind?"

"Look!" Naruto yelled, impatiently jabbing a finger at the cackling demon. "I am here because you are going to tell me how to get rid of that jerk of a master of yours. There's no way he's laying another hand on Hinata!"

The demon stopped cackling and narrowed her eyes at Naruto. "My master is not a jerk."

"Oh, I know a jerk when I see one, and he's a jerk!" Naruto retorted. "Treating Hinata like she's some thing to possess and control. She doesn't want to go with him and I'm not going to let anyone that evil anywhere near her. He doesn't care about her... he just wants to win. So you better let her go before I get my hands on him again. Believe it!"

"You know nothing about my master." The demon sneered at Naruto. "He was once very much in love with girl who looked just like your Hinata. They took her from him and then they killed him and sealed him away. So he could never be reunited with his love even in the afterlife."

"He could have crossed over into the pure land." The demon poked a finger in the direction of Naruto's chest. "He was never evil! Not until they made him so."

Unfazed, Naruto plopped down on the ground in front of the cage. "Alright, so then tell me Menma's story. Make me understand what he wants. I need to hear for myself so I can decide if you are telling the truth."

Thd demon seemed taken aback for a second unsure how to respond. Finally deciding that Naruto was actually serious, she began to speak.

"Menma was born with the marks." The demon pointed to the whisker marks on Naruto's face. "A child born to the Uzumaki clan with those marks is destined to become the next black fox demon. A demon too powerful to be sealed in the usual ways.

In our world, the Uzumaki clan was feared by the other clans because they were a clan of demon tamers. They were considered savages because not only were they the best demon hunters in the world, they also worked cooperatively with us demons through seals. No other clan had the ability to control a demon like that. Even the Uchiha clan with their eyes could only tame us temporarily.

The black fox demon was passed to Menma when he was just a young child. He had more control over it than most, but at the full moon, its power surged and he had to be sealed underground for the night to prevent him from killing anyone.

Other than the company of the nine sealed demons who were passed to him from his grandfather, Menma was very lonely. He had no human friends, so he became very close to us. That is why he is so strong. Because not only does he control us, we are also deeply loyal to him.

Our true forms are still sealed in scrolls, locked deep underground in the Uzumaki treasury in Menma's dimension. But our master can release our consciousnesses into mediums at will by placing seals on their bodies. That is what Master has done to your Hinata. Soon she will be possessed by me, the demon of broken hearts. This cage and these bindings that you have managed to create are only temporary. As Hinata grows weaker, I become stronger and very soon not even you can do anything to stop me.

But back then, Menma used shadow clones to act as our mediums in play and in battle. He became very good at it and my master's reputation as one of the most fearsome warriors in the clan grew far and wide.

One day he met a girl lost in the forest near his village. The girl was very beautiful with stunning white eyes and long black hair. She was also very kind, which is why unlike other young women, she overlooked all of his rough edges and saw straight to the purity of his heart. He fell in love with her instantly.

At first, neither one of them had any idea who the other one was until he helped her find her way back to her own village. The girl's father warned her that Menma was the Uzumaki's black demon fox and forbade her to see him again. But by the time they had reached her village, the girl had also fallen in love with him. So she agreed to secretly meet Menma again in the forest.

Even though Menma knew that loving the girl put him at risk of losing control of the black demon fox, he continued to meet her in the woods. And he sealed himself in the underground bunker more and more often to keep from harming other people. Eventually, she agreed to marry him. And Menma knew he had to find a way to control his demon completely.

Not long after that, their clans found out about the secret meetings and that the teenagers had fallen in love and planned to marry. Neither clan was happy. The Hyuga clan did not want their princess involved with the savage black demon fox and so they locked her away in their compound. On the other hand, the Uzumaki clan knew that any emotional attachment that Menma developed put him at risk of losing control of the demon sealed inside of him. So his father also made him promise to forget about the girl.

But Menma was determined to find a way to marry his princess, so he continued to search for ways to fully gain control of his demon. Eventually, he came across the land of the toads, Mount Myoboku. The sage toads welcomed him and they taught him to tap into the powers of nature chakra.

Menma broke the most permanent human law in our world, that those who mingle with the occult shall not bind themselves to the natural earth.

By accessing the power of nature chakra and gaining full control of his internal demon, my master had made himself the most powerful shinobi in our world. Now even his own clan feared him. His father banished him from Uzushiogakure in order to prevent other clans from targeting their village.

Menma went to find his princess. But the princess had already been sent away to marry another warrior among the Uchiha clan and along the way she chose to poison herself rather than marry another man. In a rage, Master attacked and destroyed her village. After that, my master was hunted by the entire world.

The Kage's council advised Menma's father that he had a choice. He either got rid of his son, himself, or his village would be destroyed as reparations for the Hyuga Village and the loss of the leader's daughter. Menma's father was forced to trick and lure Menma back to the village. Unable to bring himself to fight his own clan members and devastated by the death of his love, Menma allowed himself to be captured and killed. His father had his body sealed deep underground.

So you see, that is why Menma's spirit is tormented and why he wants your Hinata." The demon said, determindly. "And because my master has always been good to me, it is also the reason why I plan to give her to him."


	33. Strange And Stranger Things

Strange and Stranger Things

Kakashi stood between Sai, Kiba, and Ino outside of the Mizukage's office. He had left behind a massive amount of work in Shikamaru's hands to travel to the Land of Water at Mei Turami's request.

"There are rumors about strange occurrences all over the world, sir." Sai briefed Kakashi with Shikamaru's notes quickly before the meeting. "Just this week, we've received requests from the land of tea, the land of trees, and the land of hotwater about exterminating fantastical creatures that by all rights shouldn't even exist."

"Do we think these sightings are real?" Kakashi frowned, taking the notepad and looking over Shikamaru's notes. His face mask was still a constant but both his eyes were now visible. Though he kept his promise to his old teammate and recovered Obito's sharingan from Madara's body, he chose not to transplant them and instead locked them away in the Hyuga treasury.

"We're not sure." Sai admitted. "The only verified event is an epidemic of an odd disease that has spread across the Land of Water. Apparently it causes rapid premature aging. It seems to be tied to the water supply but is passed from person to person through some other unknown method. There are reports of a strange creature appearing in the water right before the disease shows up in that region. The people are calling the creature, the basilisk. They say if you look into the creature's eyes or drink any water it has touched, you contract the disease."

Kakashi sighed. "Well that sounds like a problem."

"Their medical teams have no way of treating it. The disease is only contained by locking away those who have it. They've sent teams to hunt this creature without any success."

"So they have requested our assistance?" Kakashi presumed.

"The Mizukage asked for both you and Shikamaru personally. Of course some one had to stay behind to oversee the village... we thought it looked best if you went alone as opposed to Shikamaru." Sai stated. "I believe she hopes that you may be able to convince Lady Tsunade to return. They are in need of her medical expertise. And Shikamaru's strategic mind has become legendary."

Thoroughly briefed, Kakashi opened the door to the Mizukage's office. He found the woman with long red hair sitting inside next to her assistant. There were almost as many papers on her desk as there were on Kakashi's desk. She stood up and moved with a sultry stealth across the office to greet her guests.

"Aw, Lord Hokage. My day just keeps getting handsomer and handsomer." Exaggerating the swing of her hips even more, she moved close enough to Kakashi to lay her hand on his chest, spreading her fingers just enough to feel his pectoral muscle through the robe. She undressed him with her leering green eyes. Kakashi could feel the hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

"Ummm... yes... Lady Mizukage." He stammered as he moved back slightly to escape her wandering fingers. But Mei's hands were quicker and instead he ran smack into Ino, stepping on her foot.

"Ouch!" Ino yelped hopping on one foot. She elbowed Kiba hard in the side as he snickered. Sai ignored both of them, staring at Mei with his mouth wide open.

Mei smiled wickedly and raised an eyebrow at Kakashi's flushed face. "I see I haven't lost my touch yet. What a relief! At least the years haven't yet eroded that away."

She looked forlornly at Chojuro before moving behind her desk to appraise Kakashi fully from her chair. "Do you know my assistant, Chojuro? I'm sure you met during the fourth war."

Kakashi greeted Chojuro before introducing Kiba, Ino, and Sai.

Picking up a pen to tap on her desk, Mei examined Ino. "And you must be Inoichi Yamanaka's daughter. You look just like him too. I was sorry to hear of your father's passing. He perished at the same time as our beloved Ao. And I know what it is to be a young woman lost without her parent... though that was a... long... long... loooonnng time ago."

Mei started to look forlorn again as she balled up her fist in angry frustration. "Why must time pass so... quickly. Where has my youth gone Chojuro?"

"Lady Mizukage! Maybe we should discuss the reason why we called the leaf ninja here!" The lenses of his glasses thoroughly steamed, Chojuro exclaimed nervously, snatching the shattered pen from her well manicured death grip. He quickly moved any sharp or fragile objects from within her reach.

Mei snapped back to reality then. "I'm sorry to have called you all this way Lord hokage, but I am really in the midst of a true crisis and in need of your personal touch. I was hoping you might be able to convince Lady Tsunade to look into this disease that has ravished so many nearby villages. As well as lend your strategy maker to assist us in devising a way to capture whatever has been spreading it from town to town."

"We will contact Tsunade's student, Sakura Haruno, about these incidents and ask her to detour from her current mission to investigate this disease. She is currently with Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuga. While they are in Kirigakure investigating the disease, I will also ask them to look into these creature sightings as well. I will also send back any intel that my team and I gather here to Shikamaru in order to devise a strategy to capture this creature... if you will allow us to have a look around during the few days we are able to stay." Kakashi offered.

The Mizukage nodded. "Thank you so much for your personal attention to this."

"Keeping a cooperative relationship between our two villages is of great importance to us all, Lady Mizukage." Kakashi replied.

"Oh really?" Mei leaned forward across the desk. "If that's true maybe you would agree to have dinner with me tonight, so we can discuss this further... kage to kage."

Clearing his throat, Kakashi looked over his shoulder at Sai and caught sight of Kiba, whose body shook with barely contained laughter as he did his best to stifle another snicker. "I'm sure Sai has my scheduled packed tight..."

"Actually sir, you're completely free this evening." Sai volunteered deadpanning his voice.

Kakashi's shoulders slumped. "Well then... I guess I'm free for dinner."

Mei raised an eyebrow and licked her lips seductively. "We are going to have lots of fun together."

* * *

"The only thing I got out of it was something about the demon of broken hearts." Naruto slumped over Hinata's bedside, feeling defeated.

"Demon of broken hearts... demon of broken hearts..." Gemsa rolled the thought around her head a few times. "What was she wearing?"

Embarrassed, Naruto's face turned an odd pink color. "At first she looked like Hinata... in a bikini. Then she turned into this granny in an out of date kimono."

Gemsa raised an eyebrow. Her long hair flew in a wild storm of untamable silver strands around her face, but her eye brows were still a dark shade of red. "Most likely that's the Oiwa. Her sympathy for Menma's plight fits this particular demon. And so does her attempt to make herself look aesthetically pleasing to you. The Oiwa was once a woman who became facially deformed after her husband poisoned her so he could marry a more prominent younger woman. After the poor woman woke up from her illness and she discovered her husband's betrayal and her terrible facial disfigurement... drooping eyes, crooked mouth, flattened nose, and chunks of hair falling out, she went insane and eventually died of a broken heart. Her soul was so tortured in the afterlife, that she came back as a demon to torment her husband and drive him and all of his descendants to madness."

"Well she sounds like a joy." Sakura commented. "So what do we do about her?"

Gemsa stood up and moved over to Hinata, taking the girl's hand. "I can help but you'll have to get the Oiwa's mask for me. It should be locked away with the rest in your village."

"Or not..." Sasuke interjected. "During the war, Orochimaru had Jugo and Seigetsu steal the shinigami mask from the Hyuga treasury. They took all twenty six because they couldn't tell one from the other."

"So where is it now?" Naruto demanded.

Sasuke did not answer. He just turned and walked to the front door of Gemsa's house.

"Where are you going?" Naruto called after him.

"I'll be back in less than a day with the mask." Sasuke said before exiting the house.

Sakura turned to Naruto. "Don't worry. Keep watch over Hinata. I'll go with him."

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura crossed back to the mainland within a few hours. The journey was silent and uncomfortable, but they made good time. After she finally caught up to him, Sasuke did not refuse Sakura's company on this journey, but he also did not bother to acknowledge her either.

By the next nightfall, they made it to a cave set in the southern portion of the Land of Hot water. Sasuke stopped abruptly and stood at its mouth as though waiting.

"Do you think you will find the masks in this cave? Why are we here?" Sakura inquired as she moved up to his side.

Saskue ignored her and turned his head only slightly as a shadow appeared from the nearby woods. It moved out into the soft moonlight slowly revealing a familiar face.

A smile filled Sakura's face. "Captain Yamato... what are you doing here?"

"Since you're watching over this place, it must mean that Orochimaru is here." Sasuke cut into Sakura's greeting. The edge to his voice caused the other two ninja to look at him.

"You're Sasuke, right? What's the purpose of your visit to this cave?" Yamato asked, curiously. "I can't allow you through to see Orochimaru without a good reason -or approval from the hokage."

"It's important. Hinata is..." Sakura started.

Sasuke spoke over her. "Naruto and Hinata stumbled across one of those apparitions resulting from Kaguya's revival. Hinata is now possessed by a demon who an old Uzumaki woman calls the Oiwa. We need its mask to trick it out of her. Only Orochimaru knows where all of the Uzumaki masks are now."

"Did you contact Lord Sixth about this?" Yamato asked crossing his arms. "He has personally been looking into these strange occurences, himself."

"We were in a hurry." Sasuke spoked abruptly again before Sakura could speak. "Naruto is watching over Hinata using the binding seal to keep the demon at bay, but we only have so much time."

Yamato raised an eyebrow, and looked at Sakura for a second. Then he turned back to Sasuke. "I believe Lord Sixth would make an exception for this. He trusted you enough to pardon you, and Naruto trusts you enough to track down the one item that can save Hinata. So there is nothing else to say."

Stepping to the side, Yamato said, "I'll just send a report of this to the hokage."

"Thank you." Sasuke nodded at Yamato. Then he walked forward into the cave. Sakura turned and smiled at her old team leader. "Yes. Thank you, Captain Yamato. I'll tell Naruto and Hinata that you helped..."

"Are you coming or what?" Sasuke interjected from over his shoulder. He had stopped right inside of the cave mouth but did not bother to turn around.

Sasuke waited until Sakura moved next to him and then he continued to walk down the long corridor inside of the cave. Sakura whispered up to him. "I just wanted to say hi to Yamato. I haven't seen him since before the war."

He did not respond but Sakura could feel the tension waft off of Sasuke as she tried to explain herself. Sakura frowned. Was Sasuke jealous? This was strange behavior, even for him.

They found Orochimaru at the end of the corridor in a large laboratory. "Awww.. Sasuke. You've come looking for me again already."

Orochimaru's lips curled into a malicious smile. "And you've brought the girl with you this time. I knew it would only be so long before you finally gave in and started coveting that power for yourself... and what a pretty picture the two of you make."

Sasuke ignored Orochimaru's taunting as usual but Sakura's face had gone red. She growled and moved to snap at the sannin, but Sasuke grabbed her arm, signaling for her to stop. "Where are the Uzumaki masks?"

"Not even a greeting. You're as blunt as ever. So we are back to the usual nature of our relationship. You scratch my back and I scratch yours."

"Tell me where to find them." Sasuke did not plan to give an inch.

"Now is that any way to ask a person something?" Orochimaru asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Hurry up."

"I want the guard on my door switched." Orochimaru hissed. "Anko Mitarashi should be the guard, not one of my old botched experiments."

"Captain Yamato is not..." Sakura started but Sasuke squeezed her arm tighter, causing her to look down at his hand.

"I'll think about it while I'm contemplating over whether I should kill you again." Saskue replied.

"Dear boy. You can only kill me once." Orochimaru waved his hand nonchalantly at Sasuke. "Don't worry. I'm going to help you. You are... after all, my dear student."

"SASUKE!" The door to the lab flew open and a blur of red hair came barreling in towards Sasuke. "Hey! Why didn't you let me know you were coming?"

She grabbed his free arm and wrapped her arms around it, almost purring as she lay her head against his shoulder. Then she opened her eyes and took note of his other hand holding tight to Sakura's arm. She glared at Sakura. "What. Is. She. Doing. Here. And why are you holding her hand?"

"Im not." Sasuke looked down at his hand around Sakura's arm, nonplused.

"Wow! So we finally get to meet your girlfriend!" Seigetsu came in to the room, followed by Jugo, with a huge wicked grin on his face. He whistled, enjoying every second of the blood draining from Karin's face. "Heard she was hard to handle! And what a looker too!"

Karin spun and knocked Seigetsu's head into a splash of water. She pointed her finger at Sakura. "You mean that ugly hag? Get your eyes checked!"

"You don't want to start with me!" Sakura balled her fists. "Call me ugly one more time and I'll make sure you can't speak again for hours."

Karin ignored Sakura and began to cry hysterically. "Sasuke, say you don't have a girlfriend! Say it isn't true!"

"It isn't true." Sasuke answered abruptly.

Karin nearly fell over with relief. "Thank goodness."

"Ah well." Seigetsu puffed, annoyed his joke was over. "You should have seen the look of panic on your face. So much for caring that he almost killed you and then left you to die. Of course... what woman in this room hasn't Sasuke tried to kill?"

"Why don't you shut up!" Karin yelled at Seigetsu.

"Quiet." Orochimaru commanded. "Ok. If you want those masks, Sasuke, let's go."

"Where are we going now?" Karin asked forcing her arm through Sasuke's other arm while staring daggers at Sasuke's hand still wrapped around Sakura's arm.

"I'm taking Sasuke to the location of the masks. You are staying here and minding the fort." Orochimaru instructed. In response, Karin's face crumpled and her shoulders slumped.

Seigetsu smiled. "Don't worry. Your true savior will be here right by your side."

"Don't you..." Karin ran after Seigetsu as he dodged her fists again.

* * *

Naruto woke up as Hinata shifted in the bed. He had been sitting by her bedside keeping vigil for the day and a half since Sasuke and Sakura left to retrieve the mask. He would not even leave to eat, so Gemsa had been bringing bowls of her strange food into him when she came to check on Hinata.

She kept the two leaf ninja hidden in the back of the house behind a sheet across the door to the one bedroom, as to not scare off the rest of her customers with the demon possessed girl, which was how the rest of the town was now referring to Hinata. Though the old woman did not need to worry.

Since the leaf ninjas' arrival, the town had become aware of the fact that Naruto was also an Uzumaki. In fact, he was "the Uzumaki", who carried the nine tailed demon fox sealed inside of his body and who had just recently saved the world from the rabbit goddess, destroyer of worlds. Many of them were scared to death of the strangers, but even more of them were curious. So Gemsa's shop had become very popular as of late.

Almost kicking himself for falling asleep, Naruto watched as Hinata opened her eyes and focused on him. He was pretty certain from the intense hunger that he was feeling through the binding seal that she was not completely herself. A wicked smile curled across her lips as she reached up and grabbed his t shirt. "Aww look what happens when you fall asleep for just a second."

Naruto narrowed his tired eyes. "Hinata?"

Hinata sat up, her long hair falling wildly into her face. Pushing the sheets down, she looked at her body, and examined her chest and her stomach with her hands. Her face became elated. "I so enjoy this new body!"

Then she looked up at Naruto. Her eyes turned blood red, as she ripped his t shirt open revealing his muscular torso. "And I plan to enjoy this body too!"

Grasping Hinata's wrists, Naruto demanded, "Give Hinata her body back!"

"Nope." The demon leaned forward planting a kiss on his lips. Feeling Hinata's lips against his lips, Naruto's natural instinct was to kiss her back though his mind told him this was not actually his girlfriend.

'Kid! Snap out of it!' Kurama growled.

Naruto made a weak attempt to push Hinata away. But then the demon wrapped her arms around his neck tighter and climbed out of the bed onto his lap, pressing against him and whispering, "Naruto, let's do all of those things you were just dreaming about... huh?" in a very Hinata like voice. And he let her kiss him again.

'Errrrr... Let me handle this.'

As Kurama took over Naruto's body, the demon abruptly broke the kiss, jumping back on to the bed like it was poked with a cow prod. Hinata's face turned a sickly shade of green as though tasting something bitter and she shuddered. "Uhh! You suddenly taste like a rotting animal carcass."

Then the demon noted the foxy look to Naruto's face and the deep red hue that replaced his usual blue eyes and she hissed, "No wonder."

"We can do this the hard way or the easy way, demon." Kurama offered to the Oiwa.

"You bijuu are no fun... bring back the human boy." The demon rolled her eyes and pouted. Kurama frowned and snarled a warning at the demon. She sighed and said, "Fine. You win for now, fox."

Hinata's eyes turned white again and she passed out, tumbling forward into Naruto's arms. Back to himself, Naruto rest his chin on the top of Hinata's head. "You're going to be ok. Sasuke and Sakura will be back soon."


End file.
